Eric Crume stomped off the field like a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Moments earlier, he blocked Peter Picerelli’s punt deep in Tulane territory and the ball bounced out of bounds.

That was one of four Green Wave special teams blunders in the first half. Syracuse (2-2) capitalized on those miscues en route to a 52-17 win over Tulane (2-2) in front of 36,128 at the Carrier Dome on a Saturday matinee.

“We saw a weak point and we wanted to take advantage of the opportunity,” Crume said about Tulane’s special teams.

That weak point wasn’t a spur of the moment observation or audible. It was a weeklong study of the nuances of Tulane’s special teams unit.

Syracuse defensive back Darius Kelly said Tulane has a pro-style punt formation with three players protecting the kicker. Once one guy chases an approaching player, Kelly said, blocking the kick isn’t too difficult.

That’s exactly what happened late in the first quarter when Syracuse already had a 14-3 lead. Tulane was forced to punt after a three-and-out. Picerelli lined up to boot the ball downfield, but Kelly had other ideas.

He came off the edge and swooped in from the outside. One player got a hand on him, but Kelly was long gone. He deflected Picerelli’s punt. Durell Eskridge controlled the loose ball and Syracuse took over at the Tulane 6-yard line.

“The outside guy had his hand on me, but it was late,” Kelly said. “It was way too late.”

From there it was just a matter of who would score for Syracuse and when that touchdown would come. The Orange scored a touchdown all seven times it entered the red zone with Terrel Hunt in the game on Saturday.

This time it was Clay Cleveland who caught Hunt’s pass. He had an ocean of empty space to corral the ball and sidestep into the end zone.

Tulane’s special team deficiencies surfaced once again at the start of the second quarter. Green Wave return man Kedrick Banks backpedaled with a handful of Orange players as the ball bounced toward the end zone. He did the one thing he couldn’t do – touch the ball.

Syracuse’s Devante McFarlane pounced on it, and the Orange only needed three plays to score from there. Hunt ran 16 yards for a touchdown, extending Syracuse’s lead to 28-10.

Minutes later, after another three-and-out by Tulane, Crume burst up the middle and blocked the punt with his left hand, paving the way for a touchdown run by Prince-Tyson Gulley. Syracuse took a commanding 35-10 lead and never looked back.

“My eyes lit up and I stuck my hand up,” Crume said. “I saw an opportunity.”

Crume’s teammates often jibe at him for having short, alligator-like arms and Shafer called him 5 feet, 8 inches in his press conference, even though Crume is listed at 6 feet. But on that play, his arms were long enough.

“It brought me back to my basketball-playing days when I would try to block a shot,” Crume said.

A significant chunk of SU’s offense stemmed from its mind-blowingly active special teams unit and Tulane’s mind-blowingly inept special teams unit.

When Tulane kicker Cairo Santos lined up for a field goal, he did so with a streak of 25 consecutive field goals to his name. Seconds later, that streak was no more.

It didn’t help that the Green Wave lost its starting long snapper before the game. Tulane had to bring in backup tight end Matt Marfisi.

Santos had no time. Milliseconds after the ball flew off his foot, John Raymon was there to bat it down.

It didn’t matter whether Santos or Picerelli was doing the kicking. Syracuse’s special teams unit was everywhere. Two blocked punts and one blocked field goal. All in the first half.

The last time the Orange blocked two kicks in a game was against Buffalo in 2004.

Syracuse head coach Scott Shafer said he thought the Orange would be able to exploit the tackle lanes gap. He said he was pleased with the way his team prepared for what turned out to be a glaring hole for Tulane.

An area Kelly said lost Syracuse games last season won SU the game on Saturday.

Said Shafer: “I thought the kids did a great job, and they went after it.”

Published on September 21, 2013 at 7:09 pm

Contact Trevor: tbhass@syr.edu | @TrevorHass