Injuries and inexperience rendered Syracuse’s offensive line into a revolving door.

Jamar McGloster made a one-play collegiate debut at the start of the third quarter, Michael Lasker Jr. played right guard after Nick Robinson left the game with a lower-body injury and backup center Jason Emerich found himself in that spot in the fourth quarter.

It made it nearly impossible to establish the run game and in turn, Syracuse was forced into the passing game where collapsing pockets awaited freshman quarterback AJ Long.

“With all the different front fives we were putting out there,” SU offensive coordinator Tim Lester said of the offensive line, “it must have been a record trying to find the right combination.”

Syracuse’s Thursday injury report listed Robinson, the team’s starting right guard, as doubtful and starting left guard Rod Trudo as questionable, and both started in the Orange’s (3-6, 1-4 Atlantic Coast) 24-17 loss to N.C. State (5-4, 1-4) in the Carrier Dome on Saturday afternoon. But Robinson didn’t practice all week and was replaced by Lasker in the second quarter, a move that didn’t do any favors for an already hobbled offensive line.

Long was sacked eight times and the Orange rushed for 38 yards on 37 rushing attempts.

“There were some guys who were just unable to get the job done,” left tackle Sean Hickey said when asked what went wrong with the line. “When you’re in the game you are supposed to execute and it’s not an excuse to blame our loss to the injuries.

“If you are in the game you are supposed to execute. If you can’t execute then we have to get the next guy in there.”

What Syracuse struggled with was finding the right replacement.

Lasker practiced in Robinson’s place all week, Lester said. The line never meshed, leading to an anemic offensive performance outside of two touchdown possessions at the end of the first half and beginning of the second.

While Lester said that Long made the wrong read on his first interception that turned into an 82-yard score, he also faced backside pressure and had to make a quick decision. And as the game wore on and the prospect of the Orange running effectively lessened with every down, the Wolfpack regularly blitzed six or seven while its secondary held its own.

Syracuse has one game against Duke before a much-needed bye week, and will need to win its last three games for a shot at a bowl game.

In the meantime, the offensive line has to figure out way to create holes and sustain a pocket regardless of who is on the field.

“Not at the same time like this before,” said SU head coach Scott Shafer, smiling, when asked if he had every seen a unit with so many injuries. “ … But no one else that’s playing us cares so we’ve got to find a way to go to war and that’s what we’re going to do.”

Published on November 1, 2014 at 9:39 pm

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