SU's deep hole got deeper

Watching the Syracuse University football team in its opener against Northwestern Saturday was a bit painful.

 

Painful because I didn’t see a lot that made me think the Orange are going to climb out of that deep hole they are in any time soon.

 

I hope I’m wrong about that. SU did play competent football for much of the game, but not winning football. Right now, SU doesn’t appear to have anyone who scares opposing defenses. There was never a feeling that the Orange were about to explode or come up with a big play. There were a few Saturday – Curtis Brinkley’s 28-yard run, Delone Carter’s 32-yard run – but not nearly enough. And quarterback Andrew Robinson had an ordinary game – not helped by several drops by his receivers – that turned into a disaster when he was picked off for a touchdown by Wildcat safety Brendan Smith late in the third quarter. That made it 24-10, and with SU’s lack of production on offense, it was all over.

 

Signs of hope? Brinkley, Carter and fellow running back Paul Hogue had their moments, and the SU defense did make some plays. By the way, former Thomas R. Proctor star Vincenzo Giruzzi made nine tackles, had a sack and recovered a fumble from his new position at quick end, and his former high school teammate, Nick Santiago, had three tackles at defensive tackle.

 

However, that hole the Orange are in got a little deeper Saturday, and there are no guarantees against Akron, which played pretty well for a half against Wisconsin Saturday.