Fifteen minutes after the time ran out, Matt Tarullo still waited for someone to tell him the game wasn’t over.

It was that unbelievable for the Syracuse football team. Despite captivating the 40,539 fans at the Carrier Dome, SU ultimately lost to No. 8 Florida State, 17-13, on Saturday.

‘This is very difficult to swallow,’ Tarullo said. ‘We had them on the ropes all game. I’m so shocked right now. It’s like I’m still standing here, waiting for something.’

That Syracuse even stayed in the game with the Seminoles, a perennial college football powerhouse, shocked many.

But even beyond that, SU should have won the game. SU led almost throughout, taking a 10-3 lead into halftime. If not for a few mistakes – Walter Reyes’ fumble, Collin Barber’s two missed field goals – SU would have buried FSU. Even up until quarterback Perry Patterson’s last throw – an interception by FSU linebacker Sam McGrew with five seconds left – SU had a chance to produce its biggest upset since a 50-42 triple-overtime win over Virginia Tech in 2002.

‘They should have won the game,’ FSU head coach Bobby Bowden said. ‘They outfought us, outhustled us and outexecuted us. I don’t know how we won the ballgame.’

Neither did SU.

Ultimately, FSU prevailed.

Still reeling from the defeat, SU head coach Paul Pasqualoni struggled to put into words what he just witnessed. Players spoke softly.

Syracuse had a chance to win up until the last drive. A stagnant Syracuse offense took the field with 2:36 left in the game and one timeout, down four points.

Defensive tackle Charles Howard sacked Patterson for an 8-yard loss, and Syracuse used its final timeout.

‘We thought we were going to score,’ Tarullo said. ‘We had no doubt.’

Patterson hit the senior Reyes with a 12-yard screen pass. Then Patterson found wide receiver Andre Fontenette for 14 and rushed for 15 yards.

A face-mask penalty pushed SU to FSU’s 40-yard line. Patterson’s next completion – and his last – went to wide-out Landel Bembo for 10 yards.

Then, with 13 seconds left, Patterson rushed around the pocket and lofted a desperation pass to running back Damien Rhodes in the end zone. McGrew came down with it, and the game ended.

SU had two plays drawn up for the end of the game. The first was supposed to be a corner route. But with Patterson’s No. 1 option covered, he tried Rhodes over the middle.

‘Damien had been telling me all game that he was gonna be open on the post route,’ Patterson said. ‘Damien’s a good athlete. After I had to scramble, I looked for him. But it didn’t work out.’

‘It was more of a corner route,’ Pasqualoni said, ‘and the last thing we thought would happen was an interception. And there was an interception. I thought it would be a chance to score, catch it out of bounds and set up the last play. We had it all set.’

When McGrew landed with the ball, he bounced up as his teammates immediately swarmed him. FSU’s victory celebration wasn’t supposed to be so exuberant. The game wasn’t supposed to be so close.

‘I told our boys not to say anything but how well Syracuse played,’ Bowden said. ‘We just didn’t deserve to win, and that is what I told Paul.’

Said Pasqualoni: ‘If you look at it from Sept. 5 to Oct. 9, and if you know what you’re looking at, clearly you can see that the kids are getting better. We had a wonderful opportunity here today. We’re disappointed. But at the same time, we’re really proud of how they stood up and competed.’

Published on October 12, 2004 at 12:00 pm