Members of the Syracuse training staff didn’t know which direction to scurry. There was Ri’Shard Anderson to the left and Ron Thompson to the right.

Both lay on the ground in visible pain. Eventually the staff split up. Half went one way, half went the other.

It was a play that summed up why Syracuse (5-6, 3-4 Atlantic Coast) lost 17-16 to Pittsburgh (6-5, 3-4) on Saturday at the Carrier Dome. For a team that generally avoided the injury bug for a good chunk of the season, the injuries came at the worst time.

And they came in bunches. Prince-Tyson Gulley, Jarrod West and Brisly Estime were all ruled out Thursday night and Sean Hickey suffered what may end up being a season-ending, season-altering leg injury in the first half.

With all four of those players gone, it makes sense that Pitt won. Each has an extremely significant offensive role, which is why the SU offense mustered up a mere 16 points. The offense will continue to struggle against Boston College and Syracuse will miss a bowl if it doesn’t get healthy.

“Difficult for us,” Syracuse head coach Scott Shafer said. “We’d like to have everybody healthy and all that, but hell, man, that’s what it is. Let’s go after it the best we can. Man up and see what the heck we can do.”

But realistically it made sense that SU wouldn’t be able to do all too much offensively.

Let’s start with the running backs. Way back this summer, when Drew Allen was still the answer at quarterback and Shafer’s visor was still clean, the running game was the Orange’s most talked about weapon.

It still is to this day.

Jerome Smith. Gulley. George Morris II. Devante McFarlane. Morris and McFarlane have shown tremendous potential and are viable top-tier options next season, but Gulley’s the No. 2 horse for a reason. Without him, the run game that has carried Syracuse all season didn’t have its full mojo.

In the third quarter, Morris took back-to-back handoffs and gained essentially nothing.

The crowd woke up from its pregame tryptophan-induced slumber party and appeared restless. “Comeeee onnnn,” one fan shouted.

That’s not Morris’ fault. It’s due to Gulley’s injury.

“We’re not the prettiest team in the world,” Shafer said. “We’re fighting the good fight to get better. We’re not going to use excuses for injuries for reasons not to win games.”

The injuries, though, are a reasonable excuse.

Sans West and Estime, the SU offense takes on an entirely different configuration and identity. Broyld moves back to H-Back, Christopher Clark sees more of a role and Alvin Cornelius starts.

Cornelius had a sensational catch in the end zone, but his Twitter handle is AC_TheFuture for a reason.

“We’ve got to fight,” Shafer said. “This will be the best challenge our kids have had all year and a challenge that we’ve passed on to some kids that haven’t had an opportunity. What a great thing in life for those guys.”

Another one of those players is Michael Lasker, who replaced the injured Hickey. Lasker was called for holding in the third quarter and there was a clear drop off in the time Hunt had to get rid of the ball once Hickey left.

“Damn good football player,” Shafer said of Hickey.

No disrespect to any of those players. They’re all talented, yet they simply don’t have the talent that the starters do, which is why they’re reserves in the first place.

Hickey’s an NFL prospect. A potential second-rounder whose budding career may have been hampered due to an untimely speed bump.

Syracuse players and coaches are all brushing the avalanche of injuries aside. Shafer said SU wasn’t playing for Julian Whigham, another player who missed Saturday’s game.

The players and coaches are trying to act like those injuries don’t change anything personnel-wise.

“We need to win,” Syracuse linebacker Lewellyn Coker said. “Don’t worry about anything else. Just win.”

But that may be tough if Gulley, West, Estime, Hickey, Isaiah Johnson, Whigham, Keon Lyn, Ross Krautman, John Raymon and Adrian Flemming are all out.

SU will need at least two of those first four players to have a fighting shot against Boston College, a team Bromley called “better” than Pitt.

As Syracuse’s depth chart becomes thinner and thinner, so do its chances of becoming bowl eligible.

Published on November 24, 2013 at 8:06 pm