On Tuesday, Syracuse head coach Scott Shafer compared Wake Forest wide receiver Michael Campanaro to NFL superstar Wes Welker.

Small. Speedy. Sensational.

The Orange spent two full weeks preparing for the dynamic slot receiver. But on third down of Wake Forest’s first possession on Saturday, Campanaro was injured.

He returned for the next two drives, but was then taken to the locker room. He had dislocated his collarbone and would not return.

“It’s big when you lose a player like that,” WFU quarterback Tanner Price said. “He’s a really good player and it definitely hurt us.”

Entering the game, Campanaro had caught 42 percent of Wake Forest’s passes. Without him, Price finished 22-of-54 for just 173 yards — one of his worst performances of the season.

Demon Deacon receivers struggled to find gaps in the Syracuse coverage and bobbled a handful of the throws Price was able to put in catchable places.

“When you lose a great receiver like him — he’s one of the greatest in the history of their program — obviously it’s going to stifle your offense a little bit,” SU defensive coordinator Chuck Bullough said. “But that quarterback’s still good. Still making reads. We just tried to affect him and it worked out for us today.”

Julian Whigham nearly intercepted Price midway through the second quarter when he jumped a quick throw to the outside. Ri’Shard Anderson and Brandon Reddish both made strong plays in deflecting attempted deep balls.

Price and Co. scattered just 12 first downs over 15 possessions.

Without Campanaro, they couldn’t get their offense going.

Said Price: “We just couldn’t put anything together.”

Published on November 2, 2013 at 8:19 pm

Contact Stephen: sebail01@syr.edu | @Stephen_Bailey1