Syracuse loses to Cardinals on late TD

2009 Syracuse Orange Season ... Head Coach: Doug Marrone

2009 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 3-9
2009 Record: 3-7

9/5 Minnesota L 23-20 OT
9/12 at Penn State L 28-7
9/19 Northwestern L 37-34
9/26 Maine W 41-24
10/3 USF L 34-20
10/10 West Virginia L 34-13
10/17 OPEN DATE
10/24 Akron W 28-14
10/31 Cincinnati L 28-7
11/7 at Pitt L 37-10
11/14 at Louisville L 10-9
11/21 Rutgers
11/28 at Connecticut
12/5 OPEN DATE

2008 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 3-9
2008 Record: 3-9

Aug. 30 at Northwestern L 30-10
Sept. 6 Akron L 42-28
Sept. 13 Penn State L 55-13
Sept. 20 Northeastern W 30-21
Sept. 27 Pitt L 34-24
Oct. 4 OPEN DATE
Oct. 11 at West Virginia L 17-6
Oct. 18 at South Florida L 45-13
Oct. 25 OPEN DATE
Nov. 1 Louisville W 28-21
Nov. 8 at Rutgers L 35-17
Nov. 15 Connecticut L 39-14
Nov. 22 at Notre Dame W 24-23
Nov. 29 at Cincinnati L 30-10

Syracuse Orange

Nov. 14
at Louisville 10 … Syracuse 9
Trent Guy came up with a 44-yard punt return to set up a 15-yard Josh Chichester touchdown catch with 1:24 to play. Guy almost came up with a long punt return for a score earlier in the game, but it was overturned when it was ruled he put his knee down. Syracuse took a 9-3 lead in the fourth on a Delone Carter three-yard run, but the extra point failed on a dropped hold. The Orange held the Cards to just 151 yards.
Player of the Game: Louisville LB Chris Campa made 15 tackles, 13 solo, with two sacks and three tackles for loss.
Syracuse: Passing: Greg Paulus, 12-16, 89 yds
Rushing: Delone Carter, 28-129, 1 TD, Receiving: Antwon Bailey, 4-36
Louisville: Passing: Adam Froman, 9-18, 117 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Darius Ashley, 14-46, Receiving: Josh Chichester, 3-44 
What It All Means: Syracuse dominated Louisville everywhere but on the scoreboard. The defense did its job until the final minutes, keeping the Cardinals to just 151 yards, and Delone Carter ran extremely well, tearing off 129 yards, but there’s no downfield passing game without Mike Williams as Greg Paulus completed 12-of-16 passes for just 89 yards. With 26 points in their last three games, the Orange lost any pie-in-the-sky dream of going on a late run of wins for a bowl. Now that a losing season is assured, there’s no reason to play Paulus. It’s all about working towards 2010.

Nov. 7
at Pitt 37 … Syracuse 10
It took a little while for the Panthers to get rolling, managing just two field goals in the first half, but the defense helped out with Greg Williams returning a pick 51 yards for a touchdown with 1:20 to play before going into the locker room. The offense took over from there with Dion Lewis running for a one-yard score and Cedric McGee flying for a 29-yard touchdown dash as part of a 37-point run. Syracuse finally got into the end zone with just over a minute to play on a one-yard Averin Collier run.
Player of the Game: Pitt RB Dion Lewis ran 18 times for 110 yards and a score, and caught two passes for 42 yards
Syracuse: Passing: Greg Paulus, 12-18, 120 yds, 2 INT
Rushing: Delone Carter, 17-143, Receiving: Marcus Sales, 4-36
Pitt: Passing: Bill Stull, 16-23, 225 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Dion Lewis, 18-110, 1 TD, Receiving: Dorin Dickerson, 7-118, 1 TD 
What It All Means: There’s no pop to the passing game without Mike Williams, but Delone Carter had a nice afternoon against a good Pitt defense. The Orange can’t seem to put together a full game, and the offense isn’t coming close to producing in Big East play. But as crazy as this might seem, and as ugly as the season has been, if they can come up with an upset win at Louisville next week, all of a sudden, they’re in a position for a bowl by winning out. No, that’s not going to happen, but the coaching staff can sell it to the players that there’s still reason to keep on fighting, even though the offense is a wreck and the defense can’t stop anyone’s passing game.

Oct. 31
Cincinnati 28 … at Syracuse 7
Zach Collaros improvised his way to four touchdown passes hitting Armon Binns for an 81-yard strike in the first quarter, hitting Binns for a 13-yarder in the third, and Kazeem Alli and Adrien Robinson for short scores for a touchdown pass in each quarter. Syracuse tied it at seven in the first quarter with a nine-yard Cody Catalina catch, but failed to move the offense on a regular basis throughout the rest of the game finishing with just 283 yards.
Player of the Game: Cincinnati QB Zach Collaros completed 22-of-28 passes for 295 yards and four touchdowns, and he ran nine times for 22 yards.
Syracuse: Passing: Ryan Nassib, 7-10, 97 yds
Rushing: Delone Carter, 19-50, Receiving: Donte Davis, 5-51
Cincinnati: Passing: Zach Collaros, 22-28, 295 yds, 4 TD
Rushing: Isaiah Pead, 16-77, Receiving: Mardy Gilyards, 6-62
What It All Means: Syracuse did a great job of getting into the Bearcat backfield and made several tackles for loss, but it struggled to get to QB Zach Collaros to throw him off his game. While Greg Paulus is still the main man at quarterback, it’s smart to get Ryan Nassib more and more work. At this point, he needs the time for next year and playing Paulus isn’t a help in any way. As rough as this was, it’ll only get tougher with three road games in the final four. SU will be lucky to get a win the rest of the way. 

Oct. 24
at Syracuse 28 … Akron 14
Syracuse got three touchdown runs from Delone Carter from seven, two, and four yards out, while the defense held Akron out of the end zone for just over 55 minutes. The Zips scored first on an 11-yard Andre Jones catch, and then it was all Carter on offense and the SU defense, that held Akron to no net yards rushing. The Zips scored on the opening kickoff of the second half on a 98-yard return from Dashan Miller, but SU responded later in the third quarter with n 11-yard Marcus Sales touchdown catch.
Player of the Game: Syracuse RB Delone Carter ran 30 times for 170 yards and three touchdowns.
Akron: Passing: Patrick Nicely, 16-25, 191 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: DeVoe Torrence, 8-17, Receiving: Jeremy LaFrance, 5-46
Syracuse: Passing: Greg Paulus, 12-17, 105 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Delone Carter, 30-170, 3 TD, Receiving: Marcus Sales, 6-61, 1 TD
What It All Means: With WR Mike Williams suspended for violating team rules, Syracuse turned to the ground game and got the win. It took a while to put the Zips away, but the defense was a rock over the final three quarters and allowed just 1-of-11 third down conversions. Delone Carter needs to keep being a workhorse and Greg Paulus has to be mistake-free to have any shot against Cincinnati next week. 

Oct. 10
West Virginia 34 … at Syracuse 13
Noel Devine caught an 11-yard touchdown pass and ran for a four-yard score, and Ryan Clarke ran for two short touchdowns as West Virginia rolled to an easy win. The Mountaineers scored the first 27 points of the game before SU got on the board in the third quarter on a 50-yard pass from Ryan Nassib to Mike Williams. Nassib, who replaced an ineffective Greg Paulus, also connected with Marcus Sales for a 24-yard score. West Virginia won the time of possession battle 39:02 to 20:58.
Player of the Game: West Virginia RB Noel Devine ran 22 times for 91 yards and a touchdown, and he caught two passes for 12 yards and a score.
Syracuse: Passing: Ryan Nassib, 7-16, 120 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Delone Carter, 12-33, Receiving: Mike Williams, 4-89, 1 TD
West Virginia: Passing: Jarrett Brown, 22-30, 244, 1 TD
Rushing: Noel Devine, 22-91, 1 TD, Receiving: Jock Sanders, 9-67
What It All Means: West Virginia came up with its most complete game of the season with Jarrett Brown playing his most efficient game yet, while the defense stuffed the Syracuse offense and made QB Greg Paulus look awful. The running game might not have been perfect, but the Orange can stuff the run well and Brown made up for it with an effective day. Now comes the Marshall game that’s always emotional, but the big battles are coming with Connecticut, at South Florida, and at Cincinnati in the next month. 

Oct. 3
South Florida 34 … at Syracuse 20
After a crazy start with five turnovers in the first five minutes, South Florida took control with a 26-yard Mike Ford touchdown run and a 33-yard Carlton Mitchell scoring grab. Syracuse, who got 186 receiving yards and two touchdowns from Mike Williams, fought back to pull within one, but it was all USF in the third quarter with a 20-point run highlighted by an 85-yard touchdown catch from Mitchell and an 18-yard interception return for a touchdown from Jason Pierre-Paul. SU turned it over seven times with five interceptions thrown by Greg Paulus.
Player of the Game: South Florida DB Nate Allen made eight tackles with two interceptions
Syracuse: Passing: Greg Paulus, 25-46, 269 yds, 2 TD, 5 INTX
Rushing: Delone Carter, 13-43, Receiving: Mike Williams, 13-186, 2 TD
South Florida: Passing: B.J. Daniels, 12-20, 208 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Mike Ford, 13-68, 2 TD, Receiving: Carlton Mitchell, 6-139, 2 TD
What It All Means: Syracuse has to be nearly perfect to beat the better teams, and it wasn’t even close against USF. The seven turnovers and the struggles in pass protection broke open a tight game, but an unstoppable day from Mike Williams with 13 catches and a nice day from the run defense helped keep it close. And then came a pick six late in the third quarter and it was over. The turnover margin has to go the other way with a mistake-prone West Virginia coming up next.

Sept. 26
at Syracuse 41 … Maine 24
Maine pulled off two fake punts and two onside kicks, but the defense couldn’t handle Delone Carter, who scored four times with three short runs in the second half to break open a tight battle. Maine held a 17-10 lead in the first half before the Orange went on a 31-points run. The Bears finally got back on the board with ten seconds to play, but it was too late. The two teams combined for 27 penalties for 234 yards with Maine committing 17 of them.
Player of the Game: Syracuse RB Delone Carter ran 19 times for 72 yards and three touchdowns, and he caught two passes for 23 yards and a score.
Maine: Passing: Warren Smith, 24-35, 305 yds, 3 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Derek Session, 9-40, Receiving: Derek Session, 7-61
Syracuse: Passing: Greg Paulus, 21-28, 270 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Delone Carter, 19-72, 3 TD, Receiving: Mike Williams, 5-80
What It All Means: The pass defense has been struggling. Really struggling. It’s getting help from a good pass rush, but it’s not making enough stops. Maine was able to throw without any trouble, and while it needed a few trick plays to keep the game close, the SU defense didn’t do its part when pushed. But with two wins in a row, the Orange will take it going into the Big East opener against South Florida. The passing game has been fine, but the running game has to be better to have any shot against the Big East teams. With four more home games, after starting the season with three of the first four in the Dome, the chances will be there to turn the program with a few big breaks and a clunker of a performance or two from the conference foes.

Sept. 19
at Syracuse 37 … Northwestern 34
Freshman Ryan Lichtenstein connected on 41-yard field goal as time ran out to give head coach Doug Marrone his first win. Northwestern was driving looking for a chance for a game-winning score of its own, but Max Suter picked off a Mike Kafka pass to set up the final SU drive. The Orange held an early 17-0 lead helped by a 10-yard Greg Paulus run and a 66-yard pass to Mike Williams, but Northwestern roared back in the second quarter with two Mike Kafka touchdown passes and a three-yard run. Kafka also caught a touchdown pass on a trick play, but SU finished with the final ten points of the game helped by a second Williams score coming from 13 yards out. The two teams combined to throw for 760 yards.
Player of the Game: Syracuse WR Mike Williams caught 11 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns
Northwestern: Passing: Mike Kafka, 35-42, 390 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Jacob Schmidt, 10-30, Receiving: Drake Dunsmore, 10-90, 1 TD
Syracuse: Passing: Greg Paulus, 24-35, 346 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Delone Carter, 18-84, 1 TD, Receiving: Mike Williams, 11-209, 2 TD
What It All Means: Greg Paulus and Mike Williams played like everyone around Syracuse was dreaming they would. The Orange couldn’t stop the Northwestern passing game, and it’s not that great a passing attack, but Paulus kept the heat on by getting it to Williams and his receivers in places where they could do something with it. Williams provided the deep pop the offense was lacking throughout last year, while Paulus was the steady passer who can make things happen late when the game is on the line. This was a thrilling first win for Doug Marrone, and now the team gets a layup against Maine to try to sharpen up more before starting off the Big East season against South Florida.

Sept. 12
at Penn State 28 ... Syracuse 7
Penn State went through the motions on offense on the way to the easy win. Evan Royster took a pass 49 yards for a score and ran for a 12-yarder for a 14-0 first half lead, and then Daryll Clark put it away with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Graham Zug and a one-yarder to Mickey Shuler. Syracuse got on the board late on a 16-yard Donte Davis catch.
Player of the Game: Penn State LB Sean Lee made 13 tackles, a sack, and three tackles for loss
Penn State: Passing: Daryll Clark, 20-31, 240 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Evan Royster, 12-41, 1 TD, Receiving: Graham Zug, 6-79, 1 TD
Syracuse: Passing: Greg Paulus, 14-20, 105 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Delone Carter, 15-40, Receiving: Mike Williams, 5-54
What It All Means: The defense couldn't get off the field early, and the offense couldn't get anything going to take any sort of control, and the game was all but over before it really started. Greg Paulus wasn't awful in his second straight game, but he wasn't a difference-maker and couldn't make up for the problems with the ground game. On the plus side, the defensive front did a nice job with the Penn State offensive line able to stuff the run and keep the game from getting truly ugly. If the run D plays like this next week, the Orange have an honest shot of beating Northwestern.

Sept. 5
Minnesota 23 … at Syracuse 20 OT
Minnesota PK Eric Ellestad sent the game into overtime with a 26-yard field goal with less than a minute to play, and then he won it on a 35-yarder in the extra time. Syracuse had a golden opportunity in its chance, but a scrambling Greg Paulus threw an interception opening the door for the Gophers. Adam Weber threw a seven yard touchdown pass to Troy Stoudermire and Duane Bennett ran for a 16-yard score, but Syracuse rallied in the first half with a 29-yard Mike Williams touchdown catch and a one-yard Delone Carter scoring dash. The Orange failed to get on the board in the second half.
Player of the Game: Minnesota WR Eric Decker caught nine passes for 183 yards
Minnesota: Passing: Adam Weber, 19-42, 248 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Duane Bennett, 16-78, 1 TD, Receiving: Eric Decker, 9-183
VV: Passing: Greg Paulus, 19-31, 167 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
What It All Means: Much will be made about how Greg Paulus didn’t look all that bad, and while he had some moments that showed he could grow into a good playmaker for the attack, he also played like a quarterback who had been playing basketball for Duke. His biggest problem was an inability to keep the chains moving. SU converted just one of 12 third down opportunities, and while the running game wasn’t awful, it didn’t do enough to help Paulus out.