Syracuse football - season long thread

[cornfed]

I am not saying Iowa will cover that spread but don't let the NIU game fool you. Iowa should have scored a lot more points. There were at least 6 drop passes by our WR and TE. We had a missed FG and a 50 yard run to the 1yd line called back due to a phantom holding call. So the Hawks offense has to get their act together with the passing game. Going into NIU, the OLine was the question mark since only two have any experience. The OLine was awesome after the 1Q. Young and Sims are an awesome 1-2 punch on the ground. The Hawk D just played almost as awesome. They let NIU get a statue of liberty play for 45 yards. Outside that NIU was only able to muster 5-6 yd passes. The Defense had 3 INTs and 2 fumbles. But 1 fumble was recovered out of bounce and the other fumble was clearly a fumble/recovered but the officials took forever to decide NIU player was down. Video replay was blocked out but you could tell by putting the two replays together that it clearly was out before he hit the ground. But I will still take a +3 TO Margin considering last year Iowa was at the bottom of D1 in TO Margin.

Now for last years Syr game. It was the first start for our backup QB Manson last year. Manson hasn't played much QB prior to because he was always behind Tate. Tate didn't play due to an abdominal strain. Manson did alright but got picked off 4 times and the timing was way off with the receivers. This is not anywhere close to the team you will see on Saturday.

If Christensen can settle down and the WR/TE catch the dang ball, I can see the Hawks covering the spread. The Hawks always play 10x better at Kinnick. I am staying away from this one but I don't see any value in the SU unless Syracuse did something miraculous this week in practice with Pass Blocking and Run Defense. Otherwise, King will have 5 sacks and AY/Sims will have over 400 yards rushing.

GL!

 

[redsfann]

I am not saying Iowa will cover that spread but don't let the NIU game fool you. Iowa should have scored a lot more points. There were at least 6 drop passes by our WR and TE. We had a missed FG and a 50 yard run to the 1yd line called back due to a phantom holding call. So the Hawks offense has to get their act together with the passing game. Going into NIU, the OLine was the question mark since only two have any experience. The OLine was awesome after the 1Q. Young and Sims are an awesome 1-2 punch on the ground. The Hawk D just played almost as awesome. They let NIU get a statue of liberty play for 45 yards. Outside that NIU was only able to muster 5-6 yd passes. The Defense had 3 INTs and 2 fumbles. But 1 fumble was recovered out of bounce and the other fumble was clearly a fumble/recovered but the officials took forever to decide NIU player was down. Video replay was blocked out but you could tell by putting the two replays together that it clearly was out before he hit the ground. But I will still take a +3 TO Margin considering last year Iowa was at the bottom of D1 in TO Margin.

Now for last years Syr game. It was the first start for our backup QB Manson last year. Manson hasn't played much QB prior to because he was always behind Tate. Tate didn't play due to an abdominal strain. Manson did alright but got picked off 4 times and the timing was way off with the receivers. This is not anywhere close to the team you will see on Saturday.

If Christensen can settle down and the WR/TE catch the dang ball, I can see the Hawks covering the spread. The Hawks always play 10x better at Kinnick. I am staying away from this one but I don't see any value in the SU unless Syracuse did something miraculous this week in practice with Pass Blocking and Run Defense. Otherwise, King will have 5 sacks and AY/Sims will have over 400 yards rushing.

GL!

Agree 100%, cornfed. I was at the Iowa game and we could hardly have played any worse. Dropped balls all over the field, Christensen a bit shaky to start the game, etc etc.
No way Syracuse's offensive and defensive lines contain Iowa's fronts. Mitch King(my wife works with his sister) and friends will hold the 'Cuse to less than 50 yrds rushing and their QB will be on his back all day. Only question I have is will Iowa score enough with the clock-eating running game to cover the number. I'm passing on the -22 but I think they cover the number easily.
I really don't like night games at Kinnick, what with the students having 12 hours to drink themselves stupid, but its pretty cool being there under the lights.
Go Hawks!

 

[twofingers]

Don't have any idea where to go from here.

Illinois -12

SU loses starting ceter Mccall and replace w/ RF macKenzie.

SU has switched RB Darell Smith to LB. he practiced all week with the defense.

Robinson had the same Blah, Blah, blah to say again this week.

Juice Williams is the kind of QB that has given SU fits the last few years. RB Mendenhall went over 100 last year vs. SU and will probably do it again.

Only bright spot for SU has been punter Long, avg 44 yards per kick. Coverage has been bad though.

Illinois 32 Syracuse 10

 

[pipes3131]

twofingers, I respect your honestly even being a season ticket holder for the Orange.. I am a big Illini fan, but am having trouble seeing how they are favored by 12.5 over anyone, especially on the road.. are the Cuse' that bad that you think the Illini will win by 22??

 

[Kramer]

I wouldn't touch this game with welding gloves

 

[pipes3131]

I would touch your girl on your avitar w/ about anything though!!! very nice Kramer!!:00hour

 

[Lt. Dan]

Don't have any idea where to go from here.

Illinois -12

SU loses starting ceter Mccall and replace w/ RF macKenzie.

SU has switched RB Darell Smith to LB. he practiced all week with the defense.

Robinson had the same Blah, Blah, blah to say again this week.

Juice Williams is the kind of QB that has given SU fits the last few years. RB Mendenhall went over 100 last year vs. SU and will probably do it again.

Only bright spot for SU has been punter Long, avg 44 yards per kick. Coverage has been bad though.

Illinois 32 Syracuse 10

TF,

Have been following SU sports since Manley and Archbold. G-rob finally has a HC who is as bad as he is in Zook. Illini got into a shoot out w/ Mizzou but still didn't cover and played an AA team last week. I think that the Orange will hit a couple of big plays w/ the wideouts and keep it within the #. The players haven't packed it in inspite of G-rob. I see some "Dome" magic here. SU sucks but Illinois isn't ready to lay over a TD OTR in the Dome. JMHO!

Willow

 

[twofingers]

378 yards on the ground.

10-15 yards a pop it seemed.

Linebackers again were non existant.

One TD for SU set up on a missed tackle on sideline route that went for 50 tyards down to the 2. Back up QB got a garbage TD at the end.

Orange had no fire whatsoever. No emotion. Crowd was sparce and most left midway through third quarter.

Only possible wins on schedule are Buffalo and Miami Ohio. Neither are a cinch, believe me.

 

[Sportz333]

Cuse cost me $$$ today!

 

[wannabe whale]

BYE BYE GREG

 

[twofingers]

Whether it's just his nature or his character or the years of dealing with the brutal nature of the NFL, Syracuse University head football coach Greg Robinson just does not wear the scars of defeat. He looked as fresh and relaxed on Sunday during his regular weekly press conference as he does any other day of the week. He smiled, sparred with the media and was his usual pleasant self. That's not to say Robinson hasn't been hurt by the state of his team, just that you've got to hand it to the guy for his ability to compartmentalize life. For a team that's 0-3 and has played some of the worst football imagineable, you'd never know Robinson was that team's fearless leader.

"Moving on," Robinson said.

I don't think anyone has the stomach to discuss Illinois one second more ..

- Syracuse receiver Donte Davis had surgery on Friday to repair a broken bone in his left thumb. Robinson said Davis complained to trainers of the injury last Saturday at Iowa, a game that he played in. Davis, who had his left arm in a sling at the Illinois game on Saturday, will be out indefinitely.

- Redshirt freshman Jim McKenzie made his first start at center against Illinois. He replaced Marvin McCall, who sprained his ankle against Iowa and was unable to go against the Fighting Illini. Robinson said he's not made a decision on whether to swap the players.

- Why hasn't redshirt freshman linebacker Parker Cantey played? Well, he's got into the games against Iowa and Illinois on special teams, though given the state of the linebacker position, it's curious why he's yet to play on defense.

"Early in training camp, he got a little strained muscle (Robinson rubbed his right hip to indicate the injury location) and it affected him," Robinson said. "But I've liked what Parker has done in special teams the last two weeks. As a matter of fact, I just got through watching him again. Parker ... Parker's doing fine. He's feeling better. You can tell by the way he's running in special teams right now. We really didn't use him much in the first game because he really wasn't, I dont think he was 100 percent at that time. It was little nagging stuff."
Would you like to get him in at linebacker? Is he ready to play linebacker?

"I think that he could get in and get some time, some experience. I think he's at that point now where he has a pretty good feel. It just so happen that last week was a situation where it was a sub game. What I mean by that, a nickel type game where they had three and four wide receivers on the field the whole game. So both he and Ben (Maljovec) were limited."


- True freshman running back Doug Hogue (3 carries, 13 yards) and true freshman wide receiver Da'Mon Merkerson (2 catches, 22 yards) were introduced as players in the offense against Iowa. Could there be more freshmen being introduced as the Orange continues the slow transition of new players onto the field? Robinson didn't name names, but said it will depend on the situation. Robinson said he liked his young tight ends - Nick Provo and Darnell Pratt. He also took defensive end Lamar Middleton on the travel squad to Iowa.

"There are young players that have created a competitive environment, and that's good," Robinson said.
- On Hogue: "Early in training camp, he flashed a little bit and then got plantar fasciitis and that put him down for 10, 12 days. But he's a promising back; I think one that we would like to just kinda keep working him in so we have quality depth throughout the season."

- Robinson defended his team's teaching techniques with regards to tackling fundamentals, an issue that has haunted the defense in three losses. Robinson said for all the examples of over pursuit and improper technique provided in the Illinois game, he also saw examples of textbook tackling form. He shared this story with the team:

"I saw, I'll given an example of Bruce Williams and making a tackle the other day against that back (Rashard Mendenhall) and I mean, there was no leaky yardage because he took the proper angle. We talk about, you don't come in there and really throw until you step on his to toes or smell his breath. And it was picture perfect. He timed it up exactly the way it was. I point it out because that's what you're looking to do. We work hard at it, but you've got to be able to take it to the game."
- Today's positive stat (hey, got to find something, anything, to hang your hat on): Syracuse's kickoff coverage team is ranked 13th nationally, allowing 17.1 yards per return. Cantey made his first college tackle on Saturday covering a kick against Illinois.

- Syracuse defensive tackle Arthur Jones ranks 13th nationally in tackles for losses. He's averaging 1.83 tackles for loss per game. Against Illinois, Jones had two tackles behind the line of scrimmage

- Orange is tied for third nationally in turnovers lost. In three games, Syracuse has two turnovers.

- Syracuse is 116th out of 120 teams in scoring offense and total offense. It is 101st in total defense and 114th in rushing defense. That about says it all.

- Donnie Webb
dwebb@syracuse.com

 

[twofingers]

It is time to end the debate. The Syracuse University football team, featuring a starting lineup with 16 players recruited by Paul Pasqualoni's staff (before the injury to center Marvin McCall) and only six recruited by Greg Robinson's staff, is ranked No. 116 in the nation in offense among the 119 teams that play Division I-A football. The Orange is averaging 198.7 yards per game in losses to three teams that had losing records a year ago.

In its last two games it had three possessions starting inside its opponent's 40-yard line and scored a grand total of three points. It has scored one touchdown against an opposing team's starting defense.

Its defense is ranked No. 101 in the nation, allowing 453.33 yards per game. It is No. 114 in run defense, allowing 266 yards per game, and No. 108 in scoring defense, allowing 39.3 points per game.
In the third year of the Greg Robinson era, which has produced only five victories in 26 games, those numbers are moving in the wrong direction. And, as bad as they are, they would surely be even worse had not opposing coaches called off the dogs in the fourth quarter. The evidence? Through three quarters this season the Orange is being outscored 104-16, an average margin of roughly 35-3. It is outscoring foes - or, rather, their reserves - 16-14 in the fourth. It starts slow, being outscored 28-3 in the first quarter, and fades from there, falling 76-13 over the next two.

Those numbers are mind-numbing. With nothing in SU's recent football history to draw from for comparison, Orange fans point to the darkest days of two former Big East doormats - Rutgers, which is a doormat no more, and Temple, which is now a Mid-American Conference doormat - in the search for perspective.

There are many factors behind the horrid start. The potential trouble spots entering the season have proven to be even more serious than all but the most cynical pessimist thought possible. The offensive line has been unable to establish a ground game, opening cracks for only 31.67 0

yards per game. Its tackles have allowed opposing defensive ends to sprint around them often untouched to punish young quarterback Andrew Robinson mercilessly, sacking him 18 times, No. 118 in the nation.

Fans wonder why SU has been unable to test opposing defenses deep, considering the way they have stacked the box and dared the Orange to do so. The answer is simple: Robinson is often getting nailed before he has a chance to even set up.

The linebackers, who entered the season with zero starting experience, have fewer tackles than safety Joe Fields. Once Illinois backs reached the second level Saturday . . . well, there was no second level to greet them.

Those problems, ample enough to seriously handicap the team's chances for victory, have received company from a couple of unexpected areas. SU's wide receivers, expected to be the strength of the offense, have dropped nearly as many passes as they have caught. Tailback Curtis Brinkley is averaging more than twice as many yards per catch (19.0) as the team's deep threat, Taj Smith (9.8).

Mirroring that letdown on the other side of the ball has been the front four, which entered the season confident it had the depth and talent to protect the team's inexperienced linebackers. Instead, it has been dominated by opposing offensive lines, allowing the awful rushing numbers noted above while recording only two sacks.

That is the harsh reality that greets the team this morning as it prepares for Saturday's Big East opener, a noon contest at Louisville. It has resulted in Orange football fans, stunned by the start, dividing into two camps - those who believe Pasqualoni left behind an empty cupboard when he was released and those who believe Greg Robinson has taken a .500 team and turned it into a .192 team (5-21).

It is time for Robinson to end the debate. It is time for him to begin to work the players he has recruited into the lineup. Yes, there is the delicate matter of team chemistry. Juniors and seniors who paid their dues should not be thrown under the bus.

But they must move over - especially on the offensive line and at linebacker but everywhere, really - and allow their younger teammates to gain significant game experience in some kind of rotation. True freshman defensive back Mike Holmes got his initiation Saturday and showed some promise. So did true freshman receiver Da'Mon Merkerson. True freshman Max Suter has proven to be fearless on kick returns; perhaps he will be an equally fearless tackler at safety. Jim McKenzie, a redshirt freshman, appeared to hold up at center in his first start.

All, and more, should be worked into the lineup more and more as the season progresses. Yes, it will be painful at times. Louisville, West Virginia and Rutgers are likely more talented than the three teams that have crushed the Orange so far. Cincinnati may be, too.

With so many questions and so few answers - Brinkley was the only play-maker on either side of the ball for SU on Saturday - more long afternoons are in the 2007 forecast. Yet, there will be more forgiveness in the short term and a greater chance for that corner being turned down the road if the commitment to the future is made now.

The Orange may land in the Big East basement as a result - a destiny it is quickly shaping anyway - but it will also be the most experienced team in the conference come next season.

It is painful discussing such options in the middle of September, but the numbers don't lie.

It is time to end the debate.

 

[twofingers]

Record 2-1 on year

This week I will take SU and the 37. More of a play against the equally bad defense of Louisville.

The pressure on the players and staff is so large on campus right now that playing on the road is more of an advantage then playing at home.

While it did not show on the scoreboard, SU's offense had some success moving the ball vs. Illinois. If they can put 17-24 on the board, they should have a good chance of covering the number. With a number this big, backdoor cover is always possible. SU has scored twice in last five minutes of game out of three played. They are playing hard to the final gun.


Louisville 48 - Syracuse 17

 

[rouxdog]

Thoughts on the total? Two bad defenses and one very good offense. Louisville could come close to the 62 on their own. I like the over here. GL.

 

[twofingers]

I would lean to the over but am not playing the total

Louisville only has 3 sacks on the year and is giving up 5.7 yards per rush. this tells me that SU has a chance to actually see if their offense can move the ball. Robinson has had little chance to set and throw. Being sacked 18 times will do that to you. When he has had time, he throws a nice ball. If the receivers can catch a few, they might get in a rythem and we might see SU move the ball. The fact that SU might actually be able to run the ball here should help as well. This idiotic west coast offense they run is predicated on being in 3rd and short situations. They have been in 3rd and long all year. brinkley actually looked his best all season vs. Illinois and may be rounding into better form coming off spring surgery on knee. if they can run the ball vs. LV's suspect defense front, they will score some points.

on defense, it would appear they have no shot at stopping them. SU held them to 28 last year but I would not count on that again. brohm is not a scrambler and those are the QB's that kill SU. They may fare a little better with a pocket passer that that line can go after. At some point Louisville is going to have to run the ball and control the clock to keep their defense off the field. Makes sense that they would do it this week vs weak run stop group like SU. That is what keeps me off the total. If both teams have success running the ball, it could be one of those clock killing type games.

Most likely, louisville will score early and often. I half heartly expect Syracuse to have some success offensively. Like I said, if SU gets to the 20's I think they cover. No doubt that this will be the weakest defense they have faced.

 

[twofingers]

- True freshman tight end Darnell Pratt of Nottingham High School returned to practice on Tuesday for Syracuse. Pratt injured his thumb only days into preseason camp. He had surgery. His hand has been in a cast until this weekend.
- Head coach Greg Robinson is No. 4 on the hit parade at www.coacheshotseat.com. He's just behind Charlie Weis (Notre Dame), Houston Nutt (Arkansas) and Mike Stoops (Arizona); and just ahead of Tommy Tuberville (Auburn). Coach R loves to tease me whenever he sees a staff member being interviewed or chatting with me, he'll say: "hey, you're known by the company you keep." Do I dare say it?

- Syracuse freshman tailback Doug Hogue is wearing the scars of his first big run - a chin bandage. Hogue ripped off a 9-yard run and got some type of turf burn in the process on his chin. No problem, says Hogue, who was all smiles about making his debut.

"It was extreme adrenaline. I was overjoyed to get in the game," Hogue said. "It was funny because, I don't know, I was running the ball. I wasn't like nervous. I was like, oh, I broke one (laughs). It was just kind of funny. It was going through my head when I was running. Yeah, I was surprised. I don't know (why). It was first time playing Division I football. It was just surprising to me that I actually got it."
- ESPN.com's Joe Starkey has a story up about the state of the Syracuse football program. Click here.

Some curious quotes including this one from quarterback Andrew Robinson:

"Campus is campus -- everybody has misinformed opinions from reading the newspapers and drawing their opinions from that," Andrew Robinson said. "The football team is staying positive and staying the course."
And this one from athletics director Daryl Gross:

"Greg says he has a plan to fix it. I'm looking at it to see if he can fix it. He says he can fix it. I've got to sit and see what happens. Fortunately, three games does not a season make. Unfortunately, the three games have been very consistent in terms of how we've played."
- Through three games, Louisville's offense is averaging 55 points and 617 yards of offense per game. Syracuse's offense has scored a grand total of 32 points and gained 596 yards total offense - COMBINED - in three games.

"Their offense is one that can get your attention in a hurry - I think everyone is pretty well aware of that," said Robinson.
- Syracuse's coach gave a lengthy, detailed preview of Louisville's offense during his press conference on Tuesday. After discussing the various pieces that make the Cardinals offense so good, I piped in and began asking a question:

"Against this offense, Greg, and the way, your defense is playing right now, I mean ..."

Robinson interjected, "What are you trying to tell me? They're not practicing this week?"

I said, "you're in trouble."

"That we're in trouble (laughs)?" Robinson said. "Well, you know what though, we've got to keep working at it. You're right. It's a challenge. It's a definite challenge. But you know what, I just think it's week to week. You've got to be able to put it behind you and move on. All we're focusing on right now is Louisville and not really what went on last week or the week before or the week before that. It's really about this game. I know this, I think our players are going to be very enthused to go out there and get to work and take a shot at Louisville."

- Freshman wide receiver Da'Mon (pronounced DAY-moan) Merkerson said this was how he got over the hard hit he absorbed covering a punt against Illinois last Saturday:

"Once I caught my breath, I was fine," Merkerson said. "I was laughing. I had to laugh it off, too. You've got to shake it off physically. You can't be scared. After I caught my breath, I just went and started joking with people on the side, like, 'I got hit hard, didn't I.' Everybody was like, 'yeah.' It's funny. The laughs help get rid of a lot of stress."
- Don't have details yet, but I hear the Miami of Ohio game is being televised locally in Ohio.

- Louisville's game notes has a fact box listing teams with the most graduated players participating in college football this season. It reads: Boston College (17), Washington (11), Auburn, Notre Dame (9), Arizona State, Pittsburgh (8), Ole Miss, USC, Virginia (5), Memphis, TCU (4), Louisville, Virginia Tech (3), Baylor, Central Florida, Duke, Utah (2), Central Michigan, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Tulsa, Washington State (1).

It neglected to mention Syracuse, which has four graduates on the field this season - Jameel McClain, Vincenzo Giruzzi, Kyle Bell and Jeremy Sellers.

 

[twofingers]

L'ville coach weighs in
Posted by drahme September 19, 2007 7:29AM
Categories: Football
Louisville coach Steve Kragthorpe had this to say Monday during his segment on the Big East coaches weekly conference call:

On the 40-34 loss to Kentucky that ended with a long TD pass in the final minute: "Obviously, I'm very disappointed that we lost the game in Lexington. We've got to get back off the mat and get ready to play a Syracuse team that is very, very dangerous and very sound on the defensive side of the ball. They bring pressure from a lot of different angles and they have a variety of fronts. On the offense side of the ball I think the QB is playing more efficiently every time he plays, and they have some big-play guys on the outside. So, we've got a challenge."

i think he was looking at a tape of 1987, not 2007

On his defense's troubles: "Essentially, we're not getting into position to make plays, and when we are in position to make plays we're just not making them right now. We've got to get all our guys lined up and communicating and then get into position when we do have opportunities to make them. We had a couple of opportunities the other night where we've got the guy dead to right in the hole and we let him get away, and then obviously we can't get the ball thrown over our heads like we did the other night."

On bouncing back: "I think we're talking to all our guys right now about bouncing back. We're talking to our entire team about making the corrections we need to make and getting up off mat and getting ready to play again this week. We had a number of goals coming into the season, and certainly that (the national championship) was one of them. Now that does not look as realistic, but we still have a lot to play for, and I think our team is excited again to get back onto the practice field and get going again."

On leading rusher Anthony Allen: "Anthony is doing a nice job of running behind his pads and getting significant yardage after contact. He is becoming more of a complete player. He is catching the ball out of the backfield, he is protecting well in our protection schemes. That's one of the things we challenged Anthony with coming into the season, being a more complete player, a guy who could play every down, and so far he has done an excellent job for us."

 

[twofingers]

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) ? Maybe Greg Robinson should just tape one press conference and replay it each week. He keeps saying he sees improvement, and his Orange keep getting pasted.

"I think we're improving," Robinson said Sunday, about 24 hours after his Orange lost at home to Illinois, 41-20. "We're not where we need to be, obviously."

Obviously.


Syracuse has been outscored 59-6 in the first half and 45-10 in the third quarter of its first three games, all lopsided losses. That's a recipe for disaster for a team with a sophomore quarterback learning on the job. Andrew Robinson had not started a game before this season, and playing catch-up has proved impossible ? the Orange are 0-3 for the first time in 21 years.

Syracuse had 12 possessions on Saturday against Illinois. Half were three-and-outs, with the first two netting negative yardage, and four of the first five began inside the Orange's 20-yard line.

"There's a couple of things that jump out," Greg Robinson said. "It's critical that we start right."

The Orange didn't again. Illinois scored on the game's first possession, going 70 yards in a six-play drive that took just 2:06. And even though the Orange defense forced the Ilini to punt on their second possession, after the Syracuse offense went three-and-out for the second straight time, Illinois scored again for a 14-0 lead late in the first quarter.

First down continued to be a weakness as Syracuse gets set for the start of Big East play on the road against No. 18 Louisville. On three of the Orange's four possessions in the opening quarter, they faced second-and-9, second-and-10, and second-and-15. And only once in 10 situations in the first half did they face fewer than 6 yards on second down.

The second half wasn't much different. In the third period, the Orange twice faced second-and-10 and second-and-5 the other time, and in the fourth, it was second-and-10, second-and-12, second-and-7, and second-and-12.
Andrew Robinson was 17-for-26 passing for 208 yards and no turnovers for the second time in three games. He also was sacked five times, bringing his season total to 18.

"It still comes down to execution, doing the things we have to do," Greg Robinson said. "We have to work through the personnel to evaluate that. That's a lot of work. I'm trying to piece it all together."

The head coach said he wanted to develop more depth at linebacker. He also said he didn't yet feel a pressing need to get more underclassmen some game experience,

"I just don't think there's the need at this moment to put somebody in," Robinson said.

One bright spot on Saturday was the play of tailback Curtis Brinkley, who had 18 carries for 54 yards, caught a screen pass for 62 yards to set up a touchdown, and finished with 143 all-purpose yards. Overall, Syracuse finished with a season-high 63 yards rushing, a paltry 1.9 yards per carry but nearly four times what the Orange were averaging entering the game.

"I think we're figuring out what we can do (running)," Greg Robinson said. "Curtis found some holes. You'd like to think maybe we're making progress there."

___

NotesThe Big East is now 18-5 against outside competition through three weeks, with three of those losses courtesy of the Orange. The conference's .782 winning percentage in non-league games is good for third among BCS conferences, behind the SEC (18-3 for .857) and Big Ten (26-7 for .787).

 

[rouxdog]

I would lean to the over but am not playing the total

Louisville only has 3 sacks on the year and is giving up 5.7 yards per rush. this tells me that SU has a chance to actually see if their offense can move the ball. Robinson has had little chance to set and throw. Being sacked 18 times will do that to you. When he has had time, he throws a nice ball. If the receivers can catch a few, they might get in a rythem and we might see SU move the ball. The fact that SU might actually be able to run the ball here should help as well. This idiotic west coast offense they run is predicated on being in 3rd and short situations. They have been in 3rd and long all year. brinkley actually looked his best all season vs. Illinois and may be rounding into better form coming off spring surgery on knee. if they can run the ball vs. LV's suspect defense front, they will score some points.

on defense, it would appear they have no shot at stopping them. SU held them to 28 last year but I would not count on that again. brohm is not a scrambler and those are the QB's that kill SU. They may fare a little better with a pocket passer that that line can go after. At some point Louisville is going to have to run the ball and control the clock to keep their defense off the field. Makes sense that they would do it this week vs weak run stop group like SU. That is what keeps me off the total. If both teams have success running the ball, it could be one of those clock killing type games.

Most likely, louisville will score early and often. I half heartly expect Syracuse to have some success offensively. Like I said, if SU gets to the 20's I think they cover. No doubt that this will be the weakest defense they have faced.

Thanks for the reply. Good points. The Greek has Syracuse over/under 13 team total points.

 

[Theboundbook]

I like Syracuse to cover here... I think they could give Midd Tenn St a run for their money and Midd Ten St sure did give Louisville a run.... Take the pts..... Syr will score against the non existant d.