Syracuse (1-2, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) charged to a 17-point lead over South Florida in a near-perfect first quarter. But then the Orange faltered, giving up 28 unanswered points in the second quarter and falling to the Bulls (3-0), 45-20.

Here’s a look at some players and units that stood out.

Stock up

Dontae Strickland, sophomore running back 

Dontae Strickland was the Syracuse offense’s workhorse through the first quarter. Eight of SU’s 16 plays on its opening drive were handoffs to the running back. He muscled out 45 total yards on that possession, which ended in a touchdown. He finished the first quarter with 15 rushes for 75 yards and ended the game with 30 rushes for 127 yards — Syracuse’s first 100-yard rusher since the first game of 2015.

Ervin Philips, junior wide receiver

 Ervin Philips has been one of the consistent threats for Syracuse’s offense. On Saturday, he caught 10 passes for a career-high 95 yards and a touchdown. The score was the most impressive of his catches because he dove across the middle of the end zone to make the grab. Philips ranks third in the nation with 30 catches on the year.

Sean Riley, freshman wide receiver and punt returner

Freshman receiver Sean Riley hadn’t seen a ton of playing time through the first two games, but against South Florida he was the team’s primary kick returner. He returned eight kickoffs for 193 yards, including a long of 41 yards. He did look shaky on one punt along the sideline, which he muffed, but it luckily deflected it out of bounds.

Stock down

Eric Dungey

Eric Dungey was effective in the first quarter, helping the Orange drive down the field and to 17 unanswered points. And his final stat line settled at 32-for-48, 350 yards passing, two touchdowns and two interceptions. His play throughout the rest of the game, though, was worse than the stat line made it seem. He threw several inaccurate passes without the necessary zip.

Special teams

A week after Dino Babers said the Orange “dominated” the special teams game, SU struggled. Syracuse had an illegal substitution on a punt return that gave USF a first down. The Orange also suffered a delay of game penalty on its own punt that pushed Sterling Hofrichter to the back of the end zone. A few of Hofrichter’s punts were nearly blocked and one was returned for a touchdown.

Depth

SU announced that starting defensive backs Antwan Cordy and Juwan Dowels were lost for the season before the game. Once Saturday arrived, Syracuse’s depth took even more hits. Starting safety Kielan Whitner did not dress and starting center Jason Emerich could not go. Lineman Omari Palmer left the game in the third quarter after getting shaken up and several other plays including Kayton Samuels, Philips and Strickland, sat out plays because of apparent injuries.

Published on September 18, 2016 at 9:48 pm

Contact Jon: jrmettus@syr.edu | @jmettus