From: saqx@vax5.cit.cornell.edu
Newsgroups: rec.sport.football.college
Subject: Syracuse and the butterfly effect
Date: 12 Oct 92 18:14:41 EDT
Distribution: rec
Organization: Cornell University

This team is driving me crazy.

Trying to figure out which Syracuse offense is going to show up for a game
is becoming more difficult than predicting the local weather.  And I'm still
not going to be convinced until they string two great weekends in a row.
West Virginia, this weekend, will provide that chance.

Syracuse 50    Rutgers 28

What was learned from this game?  Perhaps not much.  But for an offense that
had been sputtering, and needed a confidence boost, this was certainly the
way to get said boost.  And for a defense that has been improving markedly
the last few games, this was a chance to continue to fine tune the
assignments.  

Defense first.  The Orange D pitched a shutout for 26 minutes, by which
time the game stood at 33-0.  Of course I would have liked to see that last
for the whole game, but at 33-0 I suppose it's hard to keep up the
intensity.  Backup QB Kevin Mason came in at that point and was hit as he
made an option pitch, with Rutgers recovering the fumble deep in Orange
territory.  That led to the first TD.  Then Graves came back in and threw an
INT deep in SU territory, leading to another Rutgers score.  Those 14 points
were the hardest to take.  But since the Rutgers defense couldn't stop the
Orange attack, it mattered little.  Rutgers had two scores in the second
half also, on good drives with good passing by Bryan Fortay.  I'm still
impressed with the defensive performance, "when it counted".  Special teams
also blocked a punt for the first time this year, but that was as much due
to a poor snap as anything.  And with the Orange holding the ball for 36
minutes, the D wasn't pressed as sorely as they have been of late.

What about the offense?  First of all, Rutgers managed no sacks.  (Rutgers
QB's ate the pig 4 times.)  That's encouraging.  And this
fullback-up-the-middle crap?  For a change, the offense came out throwing.
I'm tempted to say, "I told you so," but who knows how the team will look
next week?  They could just as easily suck wind at West Virginia as they did
against Ohio State.  Or Louisville, for that matter.  But with the SU
receivers, there's no excuse to use them as infrequently as they had been up
to now.  Even if it's a short pass, just get the ball into their hands and
let them go.  Look at Kerry Ferrell's touchdown at the end of the first
quarter--a 10 yard toss off the option pass, Ferrell breaks one tackle
(something that all the receivers are great at doing) and then it's off to
the races.  And you think anyone in the Rutgers secondary is going to catch
him?  With the safeties biting on the option fakes, that left lots of green
for the receivers to exploit.  TE Chris Gedney scored on a 65-yard run in
the first drive, maybe a 7-yard throw then a juke on one tackler, and then
down the sideline with Shelby Hill escorting.  I'm telling you, if I was
offensive coordinator for SU this year I wouldn't have any running plays in
the book! ;-)

A few numbers:  (just because they're quite out of the ordinary)

Net yards offense: 675 (school record)
Marvin Graves:  18/28/425, 3 TD, 1 INT (school record)
                rushing 5/51
(My favorite) Pat O'Neill:  1 punt, 66 yards through the air (!)
                            when things are going your way...

As already mentioned, on a day like this you don't learn a whole lot about
your team.  But it was exactly what the Orange needed, I think.  Next up is
West Virginia, a pleasant surprise at #24.  This will mean that of SU's 11
opponents this year, 4 will be ranked at the time of the game, and 1 was
ranked at the beginning of the season (may be ranked again this week--I
haven't seen the new polls).  That's more than expected, even if only one is
a top-ten opponent.  What to expect against WV?  The Mountaineers have a
punishing running attack, and the run defense has been the better part of
the Orange D up to now.  It's too early to call.  Again, the game will be on
TV, the Big East network, at noon.  

Hey, this Rutgers game was scouted by the Sugar Bowl and the Blockbuster
Bowl.  Can you imagine that---SU meeting Penn State in the Blockbuster?  Ah,
just like old times...  
-- 
##############################################################
#                                                            #
#  RNJX@vax5.cit.cornell.edu                                 #             
#  Jeff Wilson                                               #
#  Cornell University                                        #
#  Department of Chemistry                                   #
#  Adirondack 46er                                           #
#  --SF author in the making--                               #
#                                                            #
#  Is what you're living for worth dying for?                #
#                                                            #
##############################################################
Newsgroups: rec.sport.football.college