Tommy DeVito Post Game Press Conference

Syracuse's starting quarterback talks to the media after the 17-7 loss to Rutgers.

Tommy DeVito spoke with the media following a 17-7 loss to Rutgers. Syracuse moves to 1-1 on the season. 

Tommy DeVito: “I mean it’s hard. We were hurting ourselves. I mean early on in the game, we got in the red zone, you know a turnover. The penalties hurt. We can’t make mistakes like that, especially in close games. I mean we needed to score points on offense clearly. And the run game and pass game. We weren’t as balanced as we could have been. The run game did not get going as it should have and the pass game didn’t get going as it should have either.”

Reporter: “What was your reaction to Dino [Babers] going with Garrett [Shrader] in the first half? And going into the second half and maybe knowing you were going to be the guy, your mentality there?”

DeVito: “Yeah I mean I knew it was coming, it was not a surprise to me. You know just when my jersey’s called, just gotta go out there and play.”

Reporter: “What was their defense doing throughout the game that was giving you guys, there was a lot of pressure coming into your face and forcing you to go out and make some plays. What were they doing defensively to do those things?”

DeVito: “Right I mean they were bringing a lot of different pressure from a lot of different ways. I mean they disguise it well. You know we got a feel from it early on they weren’t bringing as much but as the game got on and as the pass game started to evolve more than they started to bring more pressure. They were man pretty much across the board, one eye safety. So I mean we just have to win our one-on-ones make the plays when they’re there and move forward.

Reporter: “A couple of costly turnovers at some costly times. What specifically has to change for that to improve?”

DeVito: “All three of them. The first one you know going through the red zone except take care of the ball so we can we have to come up with points. You know I think our defense played well especially with some of the field position that we were given. You know that first one we just need to take care of the ball so we can get points on the board. The next one was a strip sack by me. I mean we need to hold up some protection as well. In my part, I need to take care of the ball. I mean that’s my number one job is to take care of the ball and then at the end of the game, you know they’re playing some you know some prevent defense combo. It’s just the same thing, you take care of the ball, just need to make the plays.”

Reporter: “How do you assess your play after a game like this and how much do you put on yourself after this game?”

DeVito: “I put a lot on myself being the quarterback, quarterback of the offense. You know whether it’s in the one game of the pass game. I touched the ball first besides the center obviously but I mean I have to make it work. I put a lot on my shoulders. I take a lot on the back and I mean I take this on hard, but at the same time I will watch film tomorrow go and make corrections that need to be made and have a new mindset going to next week.”

Reporter: “To go for it on fourth down when you’re down by ten early in the fourth quarter there?

DeVito: “That’s not my decision. I stand with Coach [Babers] with his decisions.”

Reporter: “...a good menu of options to run a play in that spot?”

DeVito: “That’s not the best situation you want to be in but I mean there are plays that are made up for third or fourth down and 10.”

Reporter: “You mentioned the run didn’t develop as you guys wanted to especially after it was going so well in Ohio, what do you think changed from that Ohio game to Rutgers game today?

DeVito: “I think just watching film. They kind of expected what was going to come in a sense. It’s nothing we couldn’t handle though we just need to make the correct box, hit the correct holes and you know just be efficient in the pass game because like last week the run game was rolling. The pass game wasn’t so great this week. The pass game was better than the run game even though it was not good at all. It needs to be balanced. It needs to help each other because when you run the ball, they start stacking the box. That’s when you start throwing the ball well and vice versa. We didn’t do good at either of that today.”

Reporter: “You guys went through some games like this last year where the defense was on the field for awhile. What can you take from those experiences and what you learned last year and apply them next week in the weeks going forward to try and handle these a little differently.”

DeVito: “Just getting the first first down that’s all it is, especially in a tempo offense. Once you get the first first down you start rolling. Early on in the game we were getting first downs and we were moving the ball. Then you know towards the end we were kind of playing from behind. It’s hard to play from behind. When we get into those situations we need to be better at playing from behind because then we just make a lot of costly mistakes that we need to be better with.”