Raleigh, N.C. — For a while, Syracuse delivered on its intent to put a better effort on the field after a clunker last week.
By the end, the scoreboard didn’t look a whole lot better, sending the Orange to its second-straight loss and into the final week of the season with the stakes as clear as ever.
Win and go bowling. Lose and end what has been a year marked by a star running back and a semi-resurgence of promise with a thump.
That’s how it came apart here Saturday afternoon, with a 28-point flurry in the second quarter spearheading No. 20 North Carolina State’s 41-17 victory at Carter-Finley Stadium.
After a scoreless opening quarter, the Wolfpack scored in all three phases of the game — offense, defense and special teams — kicking off the burst with a couple explosive plays for the game’s first score.
On the Orange’s next possession, NC State recorded a pick-six when middle linebacker Drake Thomas dropped into coverage and returned an interception 38 yards for a touchdown.
When Syracuse finally did uncork an explosive play of its own, closing the deficit to seven on Sean Tucker’s 55-yard touchdown run, NC State quashed any sort of prayer the Orange would notch its biggest upset of the season.
Zonovan Knight returned the ensuing kickoff 97 yards, his second-straight game returning a kickoff for a touchdown.
And, just for good measure, the Wolfpack drove 80 yards on five plays in less than a minute, highlighted by a couple of big-time throws by quarterback Devin Leary, who finished the first half 9-for-14 for 191 yards and a touchdown.
Leary’s ability to even threaten the defense through the air stood out as the stark difference between the two teams.
As the season barrels toward what could be another disappointing ending, the offensive gains that looked so promising just a few weeks ago have been overshadowed by a toothless pass attack that finished with fewer than 100 yards for the third-straight game.
The last memorable completion came a month ago on Damien Alford’s game-winner at Virginia Tech, a 45-yard heave that, it turns out, covered almost as many passing yards as Syracuse had in last week’s loss at Louisville — total.
It was more than it had accumulated through the air midway through the third quarter in Saturday’s game.
Syracuse (5-6, 2-5 ACC) heads into its final game of the season without any misconceptions about its strengths and weaknesses.
Tucker broke the school’s single-season rushing record and racked up his ninth 100-yard game of his historic season. He’s thick in the race for the nation’s rushing crown, but he might not get the 13th game that other contenders have a chance to play around the holidays.
Until Tucker got going in the second quarter with his record-breaking run and long touchdown, the best play for Syracuse’s offense was accepting three penalties that gifted first downs when drives appeared to stall out.
That was never going to be good enough against NC State and Leary, who has perhaps been overlooked a smidge in this year’s terrific crop of ACC quarterbacks.
And, it obviously won’t be good enough next week against Pittsburgh, when perhaps the best of the bunch rolls into the Carrier Dome.
Next week’s regular-season finale doubles as the final home game for the six seniors who returned for one more season to try to do better after a 1-10 season.
It’s not that bad.
But one of those seniors, Josh Black, tossed his helmet onto the bench as the medical tent popped up over his head, an act that says it all after another frustrating afternoon with the season on the brink.
Contact Nate Mink anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-430-8253
MORE ORANGE FOOTBALL
Syracuse’s stale, predictable offense stalls at NC State (Brent Axe’s quick takes)
Best and worst from Syracuse football’s 41-17 loss at North Carolina State
You Grade the Orange: Rate Syracuse football performance at North Carolina State
Syracuse football box score at North Carolina State
Syracuse’s Sean Tucker breaks Joe Morris’s record for rushing yards in a season
ORANGE FOOTBALL FANS
Sideline gear | Season schedule | Stream games on fuboTV, Sling, Hulu + Live TV