Syracuse Football: 3 takeaways from ACC showdown loss at NC State

Two 3-2 ACC teams met at the midpoint of their seasons in a Thursday night battle. Here’s what we learned from the Syracuse football loss at NC State.

In many ways it was a tale of two halves. NC State pulled out to a 13-0 halftime lead in a defensive battle against Syracuse, and the Orange clawed back in the second half to keep things interesting. Ultimately the Wolfpack held on for a 16-10 win at home in Raleigh, sending the Orange to .500 in the standings and 0-2 in ACC play.

Things won’t get any easier for Syracuse moving forward in their conference schedule, and there is a real threat that they could miss a bowl game this year after winning 10 games last season. The issues go much further than just the loss of star quarterback Eric Dungey, who masked a lot of issues on offense and made everyone better around him.

That fact has been exposed by the deficiencies when the Orange have the football. Things finally clicked in the fourth quarter, but by that time it was too late to pull things back and claw out a victory on the road. Shooting themselves in the foot, Syracuse ended the game with the last of a dozen penalties on the night.

A sloppy affair at Carter-Finley Stadium left Dino Babers and his team at a crossroads heading into the back half of the 2019 regular season. There are bright spots that emerged from this close loss, and there are definitely things that need work. Here are three things we learned about the Orange on a Thursday night that ended with the home side barely surviving a late push.