Winston-Salem, N.C. – Perry Patterson faced his first third down of the season.

Given SU was .206 (34-of-165) on third downs last season, Syracuse’s quarterback wanted to make sure it would be different this time.

Before he lined up at center, he barked orders to wideouts, Tim Lane and Taj Smith, to make sure they were in the proper set. After Patterson yanked his neck to direct Lane and Smith, it seemed like they came to the realization of where they needed to be.

Lane and Smith changed motion and marched towards the left side of the field. When Patterson hiked the ball, both receivers found themselves open. Patterson fed the ball to Smith but he dropped a pass he could’ve easily grabbed. The same thing happened a play earlier.

The West Coast has changed alright. But not for the better.

In Syracuse’s 20-10 loss to Wake Forest in front of 34,121 at Groves Stadium on Saturday, SU’s receivers caught 5-of-18 passes for a total of 45 yards against a team that allowed its opponents to churn out 252 passing yards a night last year. It went 1-of-11 on third-down conversions.

The previously described play, and the events that came along with it, showcased just how poor this offense is. No matter the coaching changes, Patterson’s impressive leadership and work ethic, this offense was nowhere to be found.

‘I see a difference in Perry in the football game,’ SU head coach Greg Robinson said. ‘I think he just needs to get his crew working with him better.’

Patterson looks like a different quarterback. His slimmer figure and increased confidence shows. He didn’t make foolish decisions, at least when you compare his performances last year. His one intended pass to Rice Moss hit Wake Forest cornerback Alphonso Smuth square in the chest and could easily have been picked off.

There was a time Patterson tried to avoid a sack and threw a ball at the feet of tight end Tom Ferron. He also fumbled on a key drive in the third quarter, ruining Syracuse’s chances of breaking a 10-10 tie with Wake Forest.

But this season, Patterson’s passes are more accurate. He’s finally more familiar and comfortable with the offense. On Saturday, his passes hit dead on to his receiving corps. But to take a line from Field of Dreams, ‘If you build it, he will come,’ doesn’t work in this case. No matter how well placed Patterson’s passes seemed to be, the receivers found creative ways not to catch the ball.

‘We made too many mistakes,’ said Tim Lane, who caught three passes for 20 yards. ‘The offense looked real good. It’s on us. It’s not on anybody else. We’ll come out next week and try to do better.’

After Wake Forest opened with a 7-0 lead and took up 6:13 of possession time to do it, Syracuse answered back at the 2:59 mark with a 20 yard slant pass to Moss.

But after that, nothing hit the mark. To combat the problem with the passing game, Robinson decided to focus more on the running component in hopes that it would later open up the passing game. Tailbacks Curtis Brinkley, Paul Chiara and Delone Carter combined for only 91 rushing yards, though. And since Wake Forest knew it would only have to stop the run, its secondary left SU’s receiving corps with at least 10 yards of breathing room before every snap.

‘It’s on both ends,’ Patterson said.. ‘If they’re dropping a ball, it’s something I can easily adjust to so it’s a more catchable ball. I’m real confident in this receiving corps. They can make the plays. But this is the first time they’ve played together.’

Published on September 2, 2006 at 12:00 pm