Not much to say about that game other than, "Did that really happen?" Unfortunately it was an all too familiar sight for Orange football fans.Excitement was at a high point for that Friday night game inside the Carrier Dome where about 40,000 people were hoping to see a much improved Syracuse football squad. Talk in camp was that this 2007 edition was quicker and stronger than any under the tenure of head coach Greg Robinson. Instead, it may have been one of the worst performances in the last three years.
The first quarter sparked interest in the eyes of many SU fans. The offense lined up in a shotgun formation on the first play of the game with four wide receivers. Quick passes lead to solid gains and some first downs. Eventually kicker Patrick Shadle knocked in a field goal to give the Orange a score on their first offensive possession.
Then the defense showed signs of ability as they did not let Washington have any prolonged drives and forced the Huskies to punt without making a first down. But then something happened in the second quarter, and SU would not recover for the rest of the game.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Jake Locker soon became more comfortable as the game went on. He scrambled out of the pocket and picked up a couple first downs. When he wasn't running,
running back Louis Rankin took the ball and dazzled the Orange defenders. Quick hits to the outside made Syracuse defenders look slow, as if they were running on sand. Rankin had a number of runs where he simply bounced to the outside and used his speed to turn the corner and outrun his defenders.
Rankin gashed the Orange defense for 147 yards and three touchdowns while Locker scrambled for 87 yards including two runs for touchdowns. In all, the SU defense gave up a total of 302 yards on the ground. To say that is ugly would not tell half of the story. This anemic run stopping was present last year as SU gave up an average of 185 yards per game, which was 10th worst in the nation.
The offense didn't do any better concerning the running game. Starting tailback Curtis Brinkley only carried the ball six times for four yards. The Orange only gained eight net rushing yards for the game. The offensive line could not open holes for the backs and they did not protect QB Andrew Robinson. The Husky defense had all of 14 sacks for last year, but recorded half that total against 
the Orange.
the Orange.Again, the offensive line continues to have problems and displayed little improvement in that loss. Perhaps it's time to give some of the young redshirt freshman recruits an opportunity to get into the rotation. The line right now is made up of veterans from last year, all juniors and seniors. Yet they looked nothing like that on the football field. I believe some of the young guys will get a shot at cracking the lineup in the near future.
Despite the non-existent running game, the passing game looked functional. Short, quick passes to Taj Smith and some nice throws down the middle to Rice Moss and the tight ends were effective. That is what the west coast offense is all about. Ball control through the air, swing passes to tailbacks in the flat and quick hitch routes to wideouts who then turn it into a first down. But without any running game, Robinson did not have ample time to find those weapons in the receiving core.
All the more devastating was that the game was on ESPN for a national television audience to watch. I don't have an official record, but I believe the Orange are 0-8 in their last 8 appearances on ABC, ESPN, and ESPN 2. That is not good when recruits watch a game like this. They see an empty Carrier Dome and 42-12 on the scoreboard with no hope in sight.
The Orange now travel to Iowa, an opponent the Orange lost to in double overtime last year. They are on the road, the first time Andrew Robinson will start in front of an opposing crowd. The game has been sold out for over a month and is on at 8:00 p.m. As a Syracuse fan, I can only hope that Iowa really is heaven, because the Orange are in need of a miracle.
