Even as Ryan Nassib watched Antwon Bailey shine in his new role, he knew what the loss of Delone Carter meant for his Syracuse offense.

‘Delone is such a big part of our offense,’ Nassib said. ‘Antwon was getting a lot of carries and a lot of touches. It was disappointing.’

Carter hurt himself in the first half of SU’s 16-7 loss to Boston College Saturday. He left the game with six carries for 30 yards and one reception for 8 yards. All of those came in the first half.

Carter could be seen visibly limping at points in the second quarter. But he was never removed in the half, and his last carry came on a 3-yard rush late in the quarter.

‘He got nicked up,’ SU head coach Doug Marrone said after the game when asked about Carter’s status. ‘Injury.’

Marrone would not elaborate on Carter’s status. But his absence — during which he was noticeably still seen on the sideline in uniform — cost the Orange its two-headed threat at the running back position.

Bailey filled in admirably for Carter, carrying the ball 18 times for 72 yards and punctuating his efforts with a 5-yard touchdown.

Bailey was most impressive during the Orange’s 12-play, 80-yard drive to open the second half. That drive was also easily the most impressive of Syracuse’s day as a team. After Nassib opened up the pass game with three passes of 10 yards or more in a row, all he had to do from there was give the ball to Bailey.

In five plays — the last four of which were on rushes — Bailey took the ball 20 yards into the end zone to give SU a temporary 7-6 lead. He converted on a crucial third-and-1 from the BC 11-yard line. And two plays later, he finished the drive with the 5-yard touchdown scamper.

‘Every man did his job,’ Bailey said of the drive. ‘We were all focused. Whatever was called, we were making it work.’

But it wasn’t that easy the rest of the way for Bailey, just like it wasn’t for the rest of Syracuse’s offense. On SU’s next drive, he broke out for a 15-yard run but was stuffed on three more chances.

Prince-Tyson Gulley wasn’t a factor as a second option, making Carter’s loss hurt even more. And in the end, despite the individual success, it only led to the collective feeling of disappointment for Bailey.

‘It’s definitely disappointing,’ Bailey said. ‘We wanted to send the seniors out the right way.’

Sale-ing

Marcus Sales’ presence has been felt at times this season — most notably in his game-winning touchdown catch Oct. 9 at South Florida.

But on Saturday against Boston College, Sales was finally the man. He was the go-to receiver for Nassib, hauling in five catches for 73 yards.

‘He has been able to really get open and separate,’ Marrone said of Sales. ‘He has been consistent. He has really risen above. … I’m happy for Marcus Sales.’

Sales was a consistent threat from the start. His 26-yard catch on the Orange’s opening drive was a career-long.

And on SU’s touchdown drive, Sales caught three passes, all of which were for 10 yards or more. After a holding penalty, Sales’ catch on first-and-18 gave the Orange its momentum back.

‘What he has done is something for us to look forward to,’ Marrone said, ‘and something for us to build upon as we get ready to start practicing and move on to win more football games.’

This and that

The Syracuse defense has allowed the opposing running back to gain 80 yards or more in eight of its 12 games this season. … SU senior linebacker Derrell Smith had 12 total tackles in the game, including four for a loss of yardage. Smith now has 24 tackles for loss in his SU career, which is tied for 10th on the program’s all-time list. … Kevyn Scott intercepted his first career pass in the game.

bplogiurato@syr.edu

Published on November 27, 2010 at 12:00 pm