MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. — There was almost no break for Cooper Rush.

The Central Michigan quarterback started the game stringing passes over the Syracuse defensive line into open pockets on either side of the field. But the Chippewas’ (2-1) opening possession proved to be their only scoring drive as Syracuse shut CMU down in the Orange’s (2-0) 40-3 victory on Saturday.

“I know they played mad,” defensive line coach Tim Daoust said. “I know they played upset. It rolls downhill from a coach down to them that they needed to play a better football game today.”

After failing to contain Villanova quarterback John Robertson in Week 1, the Orange pass rush recorded five sacks, forced and recovered a fumble and recorded eight tackles for a loss.

Central Michigan only managed 183 passing yards off 18 completions.

With Syracuse leading 17-3 late in the second quarter, CMU had second-and-10 on its own 47 and a chance to regain momentum before halftime. But SU linebacker Cam Lynch’s delayed blitz forced Rush into a throwaway. On the next play, the Chippewas’ quarterback fluffed a throw off his back foot, dropping his pass short in front of an open Courtney Williams.

Lynch’s safety is shown in this GIF:

“It started up front,” Syracuse cornerback Julian Whigham said. “The D-line and linebackers got a lot of pressure. They just didn’t have time to get the ball up.”

Daoust rotated in the debuting Wayne Williams with Ryan Sloan, keeping the Orange pass rush fresh and unrelenting. As SU protected a 30-point lead deep into the fourth quarter, freshman linebacker Zaire Franklin subbed in to maintain the same pressure Lynch had thrown at Rush all day.

As SU looks toward its next game against Maryland on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. in the Carrier Dome, the Orange will need to maintain pressure on opposing quarterbacks. When it does, it allows linebackers to pack the box and frees up its defensive backs to play tight man coverage on the outside.

“I want people talking about the defensive line the way the defensive line should be talked about at Syracuse University,” Daoust said. “The way it’s been talked about in the past, where we played mean and nasty and stopped the run and then see if we can get hits on the quarterback.”

Published on September 15, 2014 at 12:11 pm

Contact Jacob: jmklinge@syr.edu | @Jacob_Klinger_