WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Syracuse coaches and players admits the play served as a turning point of the game.

The play was just one of many missed opportunities in Syracuse’s 20-10 loss to Wake Forest.

At the beginning of the third quarter, SU cornerback Tanard Jackson read the eyes of Wake Forest quarterback Ben Mauk and intercepted his pass. Jackson returned the ball 12 yards to Wake Forest’s 30-yard line, setting the Orange up for a perfect opportunity to break a 10-10 tie.

On the ensuing play, Syracuse quarterback Perry Patterson fumbled the snap from center Marvin McCall. Patterson noted afterward McCall’s thumb was bothering him, but Patterson admits he should’ve been able to scoop the ball.

But it didn’t happen. Linebacker Stanley Arnoux grabbed the ball and Wake Forest quickly prevented a momentum-building play for Syracuse.

‘We shot ourselves in the foot,’ Syracuse head coach Greg Robinson said. ‘We got the turnover and turned it right back over. We still hung in there but lost field position. In a game like this it’s important. We’re not that good right now where we can match a team with turnovers.’

If Syracuse scored a touchdown or at least a field goal, SU would’ve grabbed the lead and the early momentum coming out of the locker room. But instead the Orange lost complete confidence and folded even with so much time left.

After that short drive, Wake Forest took 3:50 off the clock before Syracuse ran three straight running plays for two yards. Wake Forest’s Sam Swank kicked a 40-yard field goal for a 13-10 lead with 4:37 left in the third quarter. Syracuse wasted just over eight minutes and did nothing simply because it lost the will.

During the Demon Deacon’s five-play drive that resulted in the field goal, Jackson forced a fumble when tailback De’Angelo Bryant gained a first down inside the SU 20-yard line. The ball went toward Mauk, who dove at the ball near SU linebacker Luke Cain and collided with him before they hit the ground. Several minutes later, Mauk was carried off on a stretcher.

Up until that point, Mauk completed 14-of-21 passes for 105 yards and a touchdown and interception.

‘That’s the most courageous thing I have ever seen out of a quarterback,’ Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe said. ‘I have never seen anyone go after a fumble like he did. I think he reached out and got his arm stuck under the pile.’

With Mauk’s absence, Syracuse couldn’t exploit the inexperience of redshirt freshman Riley Skinner. Instead he continued Wake Forest’s strategy of running over Syracuse’s inexperienced defensive line. That was possible even without Micah Andrews, who ran for 142 yards but sat out most of the second half with cramps.

The running game also thrived thanks to Syracuse’s poor tackling. On one play in the first quarter, fullback Rich Belton ran a short route to the sideline and turned a 5-yard catch into a 17-yard reception.

Cain missed his assignment and Belton wasn’t brought down until free safety Joe Fields and cornerback Nick Chestnut tackled him at SU’s 26-yard line.

On third-and-12, Cain’s stop would’ve forced a punt. Instead, Belton’s first down eventually resulted in a 7-0 score for Wake Forest.

‘Last year in the fourth quarter we wouldn’t even have the chance to be in the game,’ Syracuse quarterback Perry Patterson said. ‘This year going into the fourth quarter it’s 10-10. We gave ourselves a chance to win the ballgame.’

Against a weak team like Wake Forest, Syracuse received several breaks. But it didn’t do anything with the opportunities it had.

‘You never know how the game is going to go,’ Jackson said. ‘At the moment I felt good about it. I thought we had a chance to win that game. But we had plenty of chances.’

Published on September 4, 2006 at 12:00 pm