SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) -Greg Paulus knew the question was coming, and he was quick with his reply.
“That is the one (play) that obviously is in my head,” Paulus said Tuesday, referring to the critical interception he threw in overtime on Saturday against Minnesota in his college debut at quarterback for Syracuse. “But I know that we had different positions and times where if we had gotten a first down and scored one more time to make it a two-touchdown lead, that would have made a big difference, too.
“It’s not just that one play, although that is the play that I’ll focus on,” Paulus said of his lone turnover. “We had the opportunities. We kind of beat ourselves a little bit, but that’s where you learn and you improve. I’m learning a lot.”
ophers and Paulus trudged off the Carrier Dome turf a loser.
It’s not a feeling the former Duke point guard is accustomed to, but he also took plenty of positives away from the field.
After the first snap of the game sailed high over his head, leading to a turnover and a Minnesota touchdown 19 seconds into the first quarter, Paulus guided the Orange to a field goal after the ensuing kickoff. He finished the quarter 5-for-8 passing for 49 yards and displayed the flair that made him a record-setting high school quarterback five years ago, hitting Mike Williams with a 29-yard scoring pass after a brilliant fake.
Paulus, who received an NCAA waiver to play football with his one remaining year of college athletic eligibility, was 12-for-17 for 128 yards in the opening half and Syracuse went to the locker room with a 20-14 lead.
“I think coach (Doug) Marrone did a great job getting us ready,” Paulus said. “I think our guys were ready to go. There weren’t too many surprises. There are things that we know we can do better, and that’s the direction we’re heading.”
Although Paulus was just 7-for-14 for 39 yards in a scoreless second half, some of his passes were dropped. Williams made perhaps the most crucial slip-up, dropping a well-thrown pass into his midsection at the Minnesota 35 on a third-and-6 play that would have given Syracuse a first down late in the third quarter.
we were doing in the first half,” Paulus said. “We’ll try to make the corrections, try to improve. We know what we can do as far as the spurts that we were showing in a couple of different possessions. That’s the level of consistency that we’re going to try to achieve.”
That promises to be somewhat more difficult this week. The Orange travel to No. 9 Penn State on Saturday, and raucous Beaver Stadium most likely will be a different experience than the ACC basketball venues Paulus is accustomed to.
“Obviously, there’s going to be more noise, and I’ve never been in that situation,” he said. “But I think what we’re going to need to do is make sure everybody’s on the same page, and we’ll find ways to do that.
“We have certain goals and standards and expectations, and we’re trying to get there. Our expectation is to win and think about that.”
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