It took three games, but Ashton Broyld finally showed why he was a highly touted prospect coming out of high school.

About eight minutes into the second quarter against Stony Brook on Saturday, the freshman running back sliced through the Stony Brook defense and ran 22 yards for his first career touchdown in Syracuse’s 28-17 win over the Seawolves. Broyld rushed for a total of 61 yards in the game on 10 plays, finishing behind Jerome Smith as the Orange’s second-leading rusher on the day.

Broyld lined up in the backfield and in the slot, and he thrived most when he was taking handoffs from quarterback Ryan Nassib.

“It felt like I belonged there,” Broyld said. “I was not too surprised or too excited; I was just waiting for it to happen. Today, I was fortunate enough for it to happen.”

Broyld, a Rochester native, has seen time in all three of the Orange’s games this season. Against Northwestern on Sept. 1, he took four passes out of the backfield for 28 yards. After that game, he went to head coach Doug Marrone asking to play more.

After Saturday’s game, Marrone said before he could get increased playing time, Broyld needed to understand his role.

“He is a very, very good athlete. But, in order to play more, you have to know the ins and outs of everything you are doing,” Marrone said. “We have been getting him more involved. We have been getting him more carries. That’s the direction we would like to go.”

Krautman’s struggles continue

Field-goal kicker Ross Krautman missed both of his field-goal attempts on Saturday, one from 45 yards and the other from 38 yards. It was Krautman’s third miss of the season, as he missed one from 44 yards out against Northwestern.

Marrone said after Saturday’s game that he has more concern about Krautman than he’s ever had in his career.

“I think Ross has been a very good, very consistent kicker for us. I’ve been very, very happy with him. He’s been one of the more accurate kickers,” Marrone said. “He’s missed three field goals and that’s unlike him.”

Krautman’s two misses on Saturday gave away points on a day Syracuse’s offense wasn’t clicking on all cylinders, allowing Stony Brook to keep it close until the end.

The first miss came after SU running back Jerome Smith ignited the offense with a 19-yard run to the Stony Brook 27 yard line, but two incomplete passes and a loss of 1 yard on a run killed the drive.

Krautman’s miss finished it off.

His second miss came on the Orange’s next drive with the team on Stony Brook’s 21. An incomplete pass from Nassib made it fourth-and-7, and Krautman’s kick went wide right.

Marrone said it’s also disconcerting since Krautman only has to focus on field goals with Ryan Norton handling kickoffs.

Slow starts a mystery for Marrone

All week long, Marrone stands in front of the team and teaches the game plan. The players seem confident, but then, come game time, slow starts keep Syracuse from putting together scoring drives.

And then at halftime, he repeats what his players need to do and they start to click.

At halftime on Saturday, Nassib had only completed six of his 15 passes for 112 yards, which was inflated after a 61-yard gain on a swing pass to Prince-Tyson Gulley. In the second half, though, Nassib completed 16 of 20 passes for 223 yards. It was a stark contrast to the struggles before halftime.

It’s been a recurring theme through Syracuse’s first three games.

For some reason, the Orange’s offense hasn’t executed early in games, making for nail-biting finishes for Marrone and his coaching staff.

“Honestly, I don’t know what it is,” Marrone said. “It’s my job to find out. We are going through a process of eliminating things as we work through this season.”

 

Published on September 17, 2012 at 3:02 am

Contact Chris: cjiseman@syr.edu | @chris_iseman