Dallas — Syracuse’s defense gave up 24 points in the first half on Saturday against SMU, then turned around and allowed just seven in the second half.

It was a surprising reversal, one that head coach Fran Brown attributed to play-calling.

“I just thought we called the wrong stuff in the first half,” Brown said. “There were things that I put in this week that I wanted to do. And we didn’t do it. And that wasn’t right.”

Brown said the blame for those calls resides with him but, naturally, his play-calling concerns extend to defensive coordinator Elijah Robinson.

The difference when Syracuse’s play-calling was more to Brown’s liking was substantial.

The Orange allowed 24 first-half points and 6.5 yards per run.

In the second half the Mustangs were totaled just seven points and averaged

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