As the Syracuse football team’s defense took the field with 3:49 to play in its game with Rutgers on Saturday, the picture looked bleak at best.

The Scarlet Knights offense had just spent 6:49 kicking the Orange defense around like a Pop Warner team. After Walter Reyes’ fumble handed the ball back to RU, SU’s defense had just minutes to rest.

In fact, the defense had spent almost the entire second half on the field, exposed and picked apart by Rutgers quarterback Ryan Hart.

Trailing by four points, the defense had little room for error. Anything more than a field goal would seemingly end the game. But after surrendering 318 second-half yards, the defense finally buckled down and made the stop it needed.

Scarlet Knights kicker Jeremy Ito missed a 43-yard field goal, handing the ball back to the SU offense. The Orange then drove 75 yards for the game-winning score. SU went on to defeat Rutgers, 41-31, Saturday at the Carrier Dome.

‘There was no room for error,’ SU safety Diamond Ferri said. ‘I was like ‘Gee, we gotta go back out there and put pressure on them again.”

Indeed, SU had no room for error on that possession. But if not for sloppy secondary play all game, the defense may have never found itself in that position.

After holding Rutgers to 32 first-quarter yards, the defense began to fall apart. In one of the secondary’s worst performances of the season, it made Hart look like an All-American as he threw for 311 yards and three touchdowns. Wide receivers Tres Moses and Chris Baker were Hart’s primary targets, as each went over 100 yards.

The secondary had improved since allowing 334 yards to Purdue’s Kyle Orton in SU’s season-opening 51-0 loss to the Boilermakers. Since then, opponents have averaged just 159 yards through the air. But on Saturday, it was back to the drawing board for SU secondary coach R. Todd Littlejohn.

‘It was weird,’ Littlejohn said. ‘We played well in the first quarter and then we got inconsistent. That’s the thing that we’ve got to work on and continue to perfect. It seemed like a play here or there within a series really sent us off kilt.

‘We’ve got to continue to work on that and get the stops when we need to.’

But, as Littlejohn also pointed out, the defense lacked some of its key players. Starting cornerback Tanard Jackson missed the game after being stabbed early last Sunday morning. Starting outside linebacker Kellen Pruitt stood on the sideline on crutches. Marcus Clayton started for Jackson and Luke Cain did for Pruitt.

But Jackson’s absence was most noticeable. Clayton and back-up Thomas Whitfield were repeatedly burned by Moses. In addition, Ferri had to leave the game in the second half with severe exhaustion and cramps. He went to the locker room for treatment and returned. Being on the field for 20:38 of the second half certainly didn’t help his cause.

‘It shows when you’re missing a starter,’ Littlejohn said. ‘But it happens throughout the season, and you expect the other guys to step up and play.’

In particular, Rutgers’ final scoring drive, which put it up, 31-27, showed SU’s defensive weakness. The Orange had five chances to stop the Scarlet Knights on third down and failed on all five opportunities. The final opportunity came with Rutgers facing third-and goal at SU’s 5-yard line. Hart found Baker at the front-right pylon for the score. Ferri said he’s still not convinced it was actually a touchdown.

For the second half, Rutgers went eight-for-10 on third down.

Still, though, the Orange defense came through at the end. On the drive that set up Ito’s missed field goal, Markis Facyson rushed for a yard on first down and SU called timeout. After an RU delay of game penalty, Rutgers inexplicably threw an incomplete pass on second down. Facyson rushed for no gain on third down, setting up Ito’s miss – his second of the game.

After Reyes’ touchdown put SU ahead, 34-31, the Scarlet Knights had one final shot with 2:24 remaining. But again the defense held strong. Rutgers actually lost 18 yards on the drive – mostly on penalties – and turned the ball over on downs.

The two key stops at the end made Rutgers’ 490 yards of total offense inconsequential.

‘The defense played when we had to play,’ Ferri said. ‘In the end, that’s all the matters.’

Published on October 3, 2004 at 12:00 pm