From: saqx@vax5.cit.cornell.edu
Newsgroups: rec.sport.football.college
Subject: Orange tops Texas
Date: 15 Sep 92 00:15:51 EDT
Distribution: rec
Organization: Cornell University

Syracuse 31  Texas 21

Now that the important stuff is out of the way, some details.  What an
exciting game.  My prediction was SU 41, Texas 20, but the Texas defense
played better than I'd expected, and some miscues by the Orange clipped the
point output somewhat.  After Texas played sloppily against Miss. State in
week 1 and got bounced, I must say that this game showed impressive
improvement by the Horns, and a fantastic job of coaching.  Texas didn't
seem affected by the Dome atmosphere at all, and hung tough for all 60
minutes.  In the end, it was the superior athleticism of Marvin Graves
and the Syracuse receivers which turned this tilt.  

Game summary:  Syracuse scored first, on a 41 yard field goal by John
Biskup.  On third down, Qadry Ismail dropped the ball on a short crossing
route, wide open, which would have resulted in a TD.  Marvin Graves showed
some of the flair for running out of the option that he showed in his
freshman season, putting the extra threat back in the option.  
     Texas struck next, on a five yard pass from Peter Gardere to Kenny Neal
at the end of the first quarter.  Texas looked great in moving the ball on
the Orange defense, which is still an area of some concern.  The D played
better than last week's outing against ECU, but still showed problems at
cornerback.  Short passes continue to burn the Orange, as the linebackers
play tight to the line of scrimmage, leaving a hole in the ten to fifteen
yard range.  Doug Womack was victimized several times, but as this is only
his second game at CB, he will doubtless improve.  We got our first good
look at Texas receiver Lovell Pinkney on this drive, as he caught a 27-yard
pass from Gardere, going high to haul it in.  Pinkney was recruited heavily
by SU, but chose Texas over SU in the end.  (SU's loss--he would have
started alongside Shelby Hill next year, a great tandem.)
     The 'Cuse ground out a TD in the second quarter on a one yard plunge by
fullback Al Wooten.  The key play of the drive was a 33-yard completion to
tight end Chris Gedney, who broke down the middle of the field into a seam
in Texas's coverage.  10-7 SU.  Then, with about 2:00 left in the half,
Biskup added another FG from 26 yards out to make it 13-7 SU.  Antonio
Johnson kept the Orange drive alive with a 14 yard catch on 3rd and 7,
reeling in the ball and getting his knees down just before drifting out of
bounds.  
     I'm sure that the Orange would rather forget most of the third
quarter.  A good looking drive was stymied when Doug Womack fumbled the
snap, picked up the ball and made an errant pitch toward Shelby Hill, who
was coming on an end-around.  The ball caromed off Hill's shoulder pad, and
Texas recovered at midfield.  I'm still trying to figure why Womack was
inserted at QB on 3rd and 5, considering that he hadn't taken a snap yet
this year and Graves was looking golden up to that point.  In any event,
Texas cashed in on the opportunity, completing mid-range passes and running
hard into SU's patented "matador" defense, which made an unwelcome
appearance at this point.  Adrian Walker rambled into the endzone on an 8
yard TD, making it 14-13 Texas.  
     After the next SU drive stalled, Teaxs struck again.  On third and
long, SU sent a fierce blitz after Gardere, but the Texas QB dumped the ball
quickly to Lovell Pinkney, who was sprinting across the field on the dreaded
short crossing route.  With the blitz on, there was no one to catch Pinkney,
and he blazed 73 yards for the score.  21-13 Texas.
     At this point I got nervous.  SU's offense was self-destructing, and
Texas was gaining momentum.  Time to uncork the offense.  Ismail gains 15
yards on an option pitch, somehow finding a slot through a cluster of
Longhorns.  Shelby Hill grabs a pass across the middle and eludes tacklers
for a 24-yard gain.  Finally, Graves finds Kerry Ferrell in the end zone,
rifling the pass while scrambling away from the Texas rush.  On the 2 point
conversion attempt, Graves pitches to David Walker, who tosses the ball back
to Graves in the corner of the endzone.  Graves makes a spectacular diving
catch, which looked at first to be incomplete, but the replay showed that he
was holding the ball against his body already when he hit the ground, as
pointed out by Griese and Jackson.  Tie score, 21-21.
     Now we move to the fourth quarter.  Texas's offense never came together
in the final period, gaining minimal yardage and failing to capitalize on a
partially blocked punt.  Syracuse went on a long drive, with Shelby Hill
gaining 50 yards by outrunning the Texas corners, only safety Lance Gunn
preventing a touchdown.  The Orange couldn't punch it in, though, settling
for Biskup's third FG of the day.  24-21 SU.  
     The final chapter came after Gardere overthrew a covered receiver, with
SU safety Tony Jones tipping the ball and Bob Grosvenor grabbing it, his
second pick of the day.  After two running plays produced little gain,
Graves aired it out for Ismail, who made a spectacular diving grab at the
five yard line, a 58-yard completion.  Two plays later, Al Wooten went in
for the TD with thirty seconds left on the clock for the insurance score.
That's where it ended, 31-21.

As mentioned, the Orange defense improved but still needs work.  Until they
do something about it, opposing offenses will be throwing those flanker
screen routes and the eight yard sideline patterns.  The Orange run defense
was decent, stopping the Horns when absolutely necessary.  The pass rush was
also decent, sacking Gardere three times and hurrying several passes, but
until SU can contain those short routes, the rush is going to have to get
to the QB *very* quickly.  Texas's offense is coming along, but somebody has
to get Gardere to stop throwing INT's.  His TD/INT ratio is horrible.  The
Texas defense played very well, I thought, holding the Orange to 476 net
yards (518 if you discount those 42 lost rushing yards).  If it hadn't been
for SU's stellar group of WR's, who knows how this game might have turned
out?  Marvin Graves was quoted after the game as saying, "I have never seen
a defense like that, except for Florida State."  The pass blocking for SU
was great, with the hodgepodge offensive line gaining more respect as it
continues to improve.  

And what about that final TD, with 30 seconds left?  "Running up the
score"?  You're leading by 3 points, so a fumble return for a TD by Texas
can win it.  Unlikely, but possible.  Besides, after that beautiful bomb
from Graves to Ismail, it would have been horrifically anticlimactic to
kneel down and let the clock run out.  It never even occurred to me as the
plays were being called that scoring was somehow running up the score.  I
dunno, when you're only up by three, I don't think it's possible to run up
the score.  Could it have been an effort to make the win look more
impressive for the voters?  Sure.  When you're shooting for the MNC, all is
fair game.  Considering that Texas was a 14-point underdog, I think a 31-21
score still looks impressive for the Horns.  I expect them to break into the
top 25 again before the season is over; perhaps they should even be there
now.  

Now what about Ohio State?  Apparently the Buckeyes are suffering from
injuries, and looked less-impressive-than-should-have-been against Bowling
Green.  IMHO, they're in big trouble coming into the Dome this weekend.
There'll be a little of the revenge attitude over last year's Hall of Fame
Bowl loss, but I don't think it can carry them.  Their defense will be
sorely tested, to say the least.  This may very well turn out to be an
easier game than Texas.  Farther downfield, some of the "cupcake" games are
looking more distressing.  What about West Virginia?  Going to be tougher
than expected.  And where the hell did Boston College come from?  The game
at Louisville is a potential pothole.  If the 'Cuse manages to get through
these first ten games without a loss, they won't be criticized for having an
easy road, by any means.  They could have choked this weekend, but pulled
together and ground out a win.  This was an important game for this team.

Aren't those Syracuse receivers a thing of beauty?  Just awesome!

Next meal:
Ohio State, 9/12, in THE DOME
(I think it's on TV in the evening)
-- 
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#  RNJX@vax5.cit.cornell.edu                                 #             
#  Jeff Wilson                                               #
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