Syracuse’s 47-0 win over Rhode Island on Friday night was an all-out assault against a team with inferior talent. The Orange emptied its bench in the second half, but wouldn’t have been able to unless it built a significant first-half lead. That’s what SU did and here are three deciding plays from the blowout win.

1. Terrel Hunt tears Achilles on non-contact play

Just seven minutes into the game, Syracuse lined up for second and five from Rhode Island’s 45-yard line. Hunt had two receivers to his left and a receiver set up behind him.

Hunt took the snap and rolled out to his left. As his offensive line moved to the right, Hunt found himself one-on-one with a Rhode Island defensive lineman about eight yards behind the line of scrimmage with an open receiver in the flat seven yards in front of him.

But instead of throwing the ball, Hunt took it himself and began running upfield. Offensive coordinator Tim Lester said before the season that he’d like to see Hunt run a little bit less than in the past to reduce the risk of injury. Hunt was able to shimmy by the defender immediately in front of him and found some space to run with.

Hunt appeared to take an awkward step and eventually fell to the ground following the non-contact injury. After the play, Hunt got up but then chose to go back down before being helped off the field by trainers. Hunt didn’t return and after the game, and Syracuse announced Saturday he will miss the remainder of the season.

2. Corey Winfield’s pick six
Just 3:53 into the game, there had already been three turnovers. Rhode Island set up on its first third down of the game and needed 8 yards to move the chains. SU set up with three down linemen, three linebackers hovering over the line of scrimmage and five defensive backs spread across from 7-12 yards off the line.

Right before the snap, the outside linebacker nearest URI’s right tackle dropped back five yards into coverage and the Orange blitzed with only five of the six players that were originally standing directly in front of the Rams’ offensive line. Syracuse had six players in coverage to defend Rhode Island’s four receivers.

URI tight end Charlie McKeeman was the innermost of the three receivers set up on the right side of the formation. The linebacker that dropped into coverage picked him up as he started running his route. About five yards downfield, McKeeman cut toward the sideline as quarterback Paul Mroz started his throwing motion.

Winfield, who was defending URI’s outermost receiver on the near sideline continued looking forward. Since he gave a 10-yard cushion when the play began, everything was still in front of him at this point. Mroz’s pass was a bit high and hit off McKeeman’s hand, deflecting it into the area of Winfield.

Winfield broke from his backpedal and secured the interception. With space in front of him, Winfield used his teammates as blockers and found his way into the end zone.

3. Brisly Estime’s punt return for a touchdown
Syracuse forced Rhode Island into a fourth and four with just seconds remaining in the first half. With a six-second differential between the game and play clocks, the Rams had no choice but to punt and SU put 10 players across the line of scrimmage with Estime back to receive.

Estime caught the ball with six yards of empty space in front of him, allowing him time to see the field. With a Rams player sprinting at him, Estime bounced to the outside and used his speed to accelerate past URI’s initial wave of coverage.

Estime then relied on his speed and shiftiness to weave through several Rhode Island players as he attacked the left sideline. In a few moments, he was surrounded by multiple URI players within tackling distance, but he used his quickness and blockers to bolt by around midfield.

Once Estime was a step ahead, he then turned on the jets and left the Rams’ coverage unit in the dust on his way to SU’s first punt-return touchdown in 12 years.

 

Published on September 5, 2015 at 5:16 pm

Contact Paul: pmschwed@syr.edu | @pschweds