UPDATED: Sept. 25, 2017 at 12:36 a.m.

BATON ROUGE, La. — Eric Dungey barely reacted when his last pass of the night sailed over the head of its intended receiver. Dungey stood with his arms by his side motionless. His chest rose and fell twice. Then, he put his hands over his facemask and looked up to the sky.

On fourth-and-12, deep in Syracuse’s own territory with less than a minute remaining and his team trailing by two scores, Dungey had slung a prayer. At the postgame press conference, Dungey gripped the sides of the wooden podium and spoke in a low, slow voice.

“I’m upset right now because I feel like we left a lot on the table,” he said.

Syracuse (2-2), a 21.5-point underdog in Vegas, had held its own late in the fourth quarter, drawing within two points of No. 25 Louisiana State (3-1, 0-1 Southeastern) before falling, 36-25. SU lost the game it was never supposed to win, the game it was suddenly in, because of three plays. A Dungey interception, a Sean Riley drop and one broken LSU run doomed the Orange to be the 49th consecutive nonconference opponent the Tigers have beaten in “Death Valley.”

Syracuse head coach Dino Babers preached all week about playing when the lights came on in “one of the toughest venues in the country,” and the announced attendance of 96,044, meant his team played in front of more people on Saturday night than in its first three games combined.

“If you’re going to come out and beat a team like this on the road,” Babers said, “you better score in the 40s. If you’re not in the 30s or 40s, it’s going to be hard and we had plays out there to get us to those numbers. They’re a good team. They’re going to score points and we’ve got to score points, too.”

On the last play that mattered, on second-and-13 with two minutes to go, Tigers receiver D.J. Chark sprinted back across the offense from the slot, where he took a handoff.

Dennis Nett | Syracuse Media Group

 

Three minutes earlier, Dungey had thrown a touchdown to pull SU within two, 28-26. But then the Orange seemed to halfheartedly onside kick, and Syracuse’s defense, which had been mostly stout, had to defend LSU at its own 45. The Tigers dripped the clock away with a few short runs, one of which went for 20 yards. It was a microcosm of Syracuse’s troubles, the Orange containing for long stretches until it buckled for big gains.

Chark nabbed the jet sweep, juked a flat-footed cornerback Juwan Dowels and turned the corner for the endzone. For as much as Babers has promised about his signature offense, how the cake was still in the oven, ready to be fully cooked in Week 4, Chark was the one who applied the icing.

“(LSU) didn’t really do anything special,” Syracuse linebacker Zaire Franklin said. “All those plays they got was missed assignments. I don’t think it was anything special that happened. … They couldn’t run the ball. They had two good runs and (Chark) made a play at the end.”

But the defense was stuck in that position, at least partly because Syracuse didn’t score on its best chance all night.

Early in the second quarter, trailing 7-3, Dungey rolled out to his right and spied his sophomore receiver Riley speeding into space toward the endzone. Dungey launched near midfield as Riley separated from corner Xavier Lewis. If Riley caught that pass, Syracuse would have expanded an offense that had been limited to short passes and runs. It would have taken a lead on the Tigers at LSU. It would’ve been a baked cake.

But Riley didn’t catch the pass.

It squirted from Riley’s arms as he landed on his stomach in a sea of purple. In the second half, the clock stopped working and Syracuse’s hopes for an upset dimmed as LSU’s offense brightened.

“It could be one or two plays (making the difference),” Dungey said, “but I can’t say that. We have to get it done right.”

On the first play of the game, LSU cornerback Greedy Williams snatched Dungey’s pass intended for receiver Steve Ishmael and sprinted down the left sideline. Dungey flew in and yanked the corner’s helmet at about the 1-yard line, ripping it off Williams’ head. Williams popped up on the sideline and glared into the crowd. Otto the Orange, standing about a foot away, ducked out of the way to avoid a swarming mass of purple-and-gold jerseys. Running back Derrius Guice punched in the score one play later.

That play alone is not why the Orange lost, but it afforded the Tigers a lead it never relinquished. As much as Syracuse pushed, trying different sets and trick plays, it couldn’t overcome LSU’s lead. The Orange pushed LSU to third down but then allowed the Tigers to convert. SU snuck closer than it usually does when trying to upset a ranked foe, but it was never enough.

“We felt like there were enough plays out there for us to make,” Babers said, “and if we made the plays we would have had the opportunity to win. We’re disappointed that we didn’t.”

CORRECTION: In a previous version of this post, Sean Riley’s year was misstated. Riley is a sophomore. The Daily Orange regrets this error.

Published on September 23, 2017 at 10:45 pm

Contact Sam: sjfortie@syr.edu | @Sam4TR