IN THE

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A publication of

September 30-October 2, 2011

Despite 3-1 start, SU enters conference play with injury-riddled roster

Limping in

Performance reviewBeat writers Michael Cohen and Mark Cooper rank the Big East from top to bottom heading into week five of the season. Page 5

Get readyStarting lineups, key matchups and beat writer predictions will prepare you for the game. Pages 6-7

Black and blueSyracuse must overcome a multitude of health problems to defeat Rutgers. Page 3

dave trotman-wilkins | staff photographer

HUDDLELimping in

S P O R T S @ D A I L Y O R A N G E . C O MG A M E DAY W E E K E N D2 s e p t e m be r 3 0 - o c t obe r 2 , 2 0 1 1

Sports Editor Michael CohenPresentation Director Becca McGovernPhoto Editor Brandon WeightCopy Chief Laurence LeveilleAsst. Presentation Director Ankur PatankarAsst. Sports Editor Mark CooperAsst. Sports Editor Ryne GeryAsst. Photo Editor Stacie FanelliAsst. Copy Editor Stephen BaileyAsst. Copy Editor Andrew Tredinnick

T H E I N D E P E N D E N T S T U D E N T N E W S P A P E R O F S Y R A C U S E , N E W Y O R K

Amrita Mainthia MANAGING EDITOR

Dara McBride EDITOR IN CHIEF

General Manager Peter WaackIT Director Mike EscalanteIT Manager Derek OstranderCirculation Manager Harold HeronAdvertising Designer Cecilia JayoAdvertising Designer Yoli WorthAdvertising Representative Bianca Rodriguez Advertising Representative Kelsey Rowland Advertising Representative Andrew Steinbach Advertising Representative Yiwei WuClassifieds Manager Michael KangCirculation Joyce PlacitoCirculation Olivia St. DenisMarketing Manager Assel BaitassovaStudent Business Manager Brooke WilliamsBusiness Intern Tim Bennett

TODAY TOMORROW SUNDAY

H68| L46 H63| L50H51| L42

W E AT H E R

S P O R T S @ D A I L Y O R A N G E . C O M s e p t e m be r 3 0 - o c t obe r 2 , 2 0 1 1 3

By Zach BrownSTAFF WRITER

I n his 19 years of coaching with seven differ-ent teams, Doug Marrone can think of just one season in which he had to deal with a

worse injury situation than the one facing his Syracuse football team right now.

As the offensive line coach for the New York Jets in 2005, Marrone watched the team’s top two quarterbacks suffer shoulder injuries just seven plays apart. That left the Jets with third-string quarterback Brooks Bollinger and 41-year-old Vinny Testaverde, signed once the injuries hit.

“That’s very difficult,” Marrone said of that season. “We didn’t have a very good year. That was probably the only time that’s occurred.”

This week, Marrone’s Orange (3-1) is dealing with multiple injuries to key players as it pre-pares to start Big East conference play with a game against Rutgers (2-1) on Saturday at noon in the Carrier Dome. The bumps and bruises have been piling up for SU since preseason camp, and the Orange faces a rough start to conference play if it doesn’t overcome the injury bug quickly.

This week, Marrone chose to close the team’s practices and not allow players or assistant coaches to talk to the media. The injuries have

prevented the Orange from adding to their play-book this week and have affected how the team prepares for its conference opener.

“It’s very difficult right now what we’re doing with the game plan,” Marrone said. “We’ll prob-ably take some stuff out, and, unfortunately, it’s very difficult to add stuff. It kind of gets you in a little bit of a bind because if you don’t do enough, it can get ugly quick.”

The defensive side of the ball has suffered most of the Orange’s injuries. Defensive end Chandler Jones has not played since the season opener against Wake Forest due to a lower body injury. Middle linebacker Marquis Spruill played sparingly against Toledo last weekend.

And in the secondary, seemingly every player who’s seen action has suffered some kind of injury. Strong safety Shamarko Thomas did not play against the Rockets due to a lower body injury. The other three starters — Phil-lip Thomas, Kevyn Scott and Keon Lyn — all were hurt during preseason camp and have left games hurt this year for portions of time.

Offensively, the biggest injury the media was made aware of was to running back Prince-Tyson Gulley, who had a breakout performance against Toledo with 10 carries for 66 yards.

“What’s more difficult in college than

dave trotman-wilkins | staff photographer

PRINCE-TYSON GULLEY (23) is one of multiple Syracuse players banged up going into the team’s Big East opener against Rutgers on Saturday. Head coach Doug Marrone closed practices to the media this week as the Orange dealt with the injuries.

Playing hurtSyracuse must overcome slew of injuries as it opens Big East play against Rutgers

Anthony Perkins rolled his helmet across the Rutgers turf in front of the end zone. Syracuse was finally going bowling.

In head coach Doug Marrone’s second sea-son, he saw his vision come to fruition when Ross Krautman kicked a 24-yard field goal with 1:07 remaining in the fourth quarter. The field goal sealed a 13-10 SU victory over Rutgers in front of 49,911 at Rutgers Stadium in Piscataway, N.J., last season. The victory gave the Orange a 7-3 record and clinched the team’s first bowl berth since 2004.

Krautman supplied SU with just enough points to get the win. The freshman kicker also drilled a career-long 48-yarder with 3:19 left in the third quarter to tie the game at 10-10. And a 66-yard drive late in the game placed Krautman directly in the spotlight. Krautman remained calm and cool to send the kick through the uprights.

“I’m off on my own,” Krautman said to The Daily Orange on Nov. 13, 2010.

Ryan Nassib was sacked six times as the Syracuse offense struggled to find the end zone. The Orange defense limited Rutgers to 280 yards on 73 plays and sacked RU quarterbacks Tom Savage and Chas Dodd twice apiece. Syracuse turned the ball over three times and RU lost the ball once.

After the Scarlet Knights struggled to score in the first half, RU head coach Greg Schiano benched the freshman Dodd in favor of Savage in the second half. Savage supplied some energy, leading an eight-play, 85-yard drive to put Rutgers in front 10-7 in the third quarter.

SU couldn’t put much together offensively, picking up just 242 yards prior to the game-winning drive. And the Orange’s incompetence on offense was driving Marrone mad.

“I kept thinking, ‘Why is this happening?’” Marrone said. “‘Why can’t we go out there and execute?’”

In an ugly game, the specialists played a crucial role. SU punter Rob Long averaged 44 yards on his consistent line drive punts. Krautman made each of his two field goal attempts and Rutgers kicker San San Te was 1-of-3.

Long explained that the important thing wasn’t drilling his punts deep, but limiting any possible negative outcomes.

“It wasn’t about the punts this game,” Long said. “It was about not getting one blocked.”

And the end result rested on the shoulders of Krautman, who delivered one of the season’s defining moments.

Long knew how important Krautman’s kick and the victory were for the Orange. After Marrone spent months stressing the goal of attaining a winning season and a bowl berth, SU’s objective was finally met.

Said Long: “Everybody knows what it means when he made that.”

—Compiled by Andrew Tredinnick, asst. copy editor, adtredin@syr.edu

SYRACUSE 13 RUTGERS 10

Last time they played

SEE RUTGERSPAGE 12

NOV. 13, 2010

s p o r t s @ d a i l y o r a n g e . c o m4 s e p t e m be r 3 0 - o c t obe r 2 , 2 0 1 1

“I don’t think so because it’s not Syracuse’s fault. It’s the ref ’s fault for making the mistake. I think if anything, they should try to replay from that point.”

Ryan VinsonSophomore undeclared major in the david B.

Falk college oF Sport and human dynamicS

P e r s P e c t i v e scompiled by stephen bailey and stacie fanelli | the daily orange

Should Syracuse have vacated its win against Toledo because the referees made a mistake?

“There’s no way that you should have to vacate a win. The Detroit Tigers guy (Armando Galarraga) had a perfect game thrown away. It’s not like they gave him a perfect game. If an ump made a mistake or a ref made a mistake, you don’t change it.”

Steven KozarSophomore Sport management major

“Honestly, the refs make bad calls all the time. They’re part of the game.”

Sarah Gleasonjunior Biology and televiSion, radio and Film major

“No, because that’s not their fault. They had no choice.”

Chris ProctorFreShman health and exerciSe Science major

“It’s not our fault that the refs made the mistake, so we shouldn’t have to vacate the win.”

Tyler WassermanSenior Sport management major

“I’m a huge fan of Syracuse football, and basically, even if refs call a sucky game, refs call sucky games in the Super Bowl. If we won, we won. It’s a win. It doesn’t really matter whether or not the refs made a bad call. In the end, we won.”

Amanda Quigley Sophomore Finance and televiSion,

radio and Film major

S P O R T S @ D A I L Y O R A N G E . C O M

The Big East is better than it was last year. I will stand by that. The results haven’t been great for the conference against other

Bowl Championship Series conferences so far this year — a 6-8 record when counting the two games against Notre Dame — but the performances, even in losses, have improved. West Virginia battled back after falling behind early against Louisiana State. South Florida beat Notre Dame. Rutgers almost beat North Carolina.

Conference play begins this week, and two Big East teams are ranked in the Top 25. As long as the conference can maintain that, it’s a relatively successful regular season on the fi eld. Here are my power rankings, as of Wednesday (before the South Florida-Pittsburgh game):

1. West Virginia (3-1)LAST WEEK: L VS. NO. 2 LOUISIANA STATE, 47-21THIS WEEK: VS. BOWLING GREEN

West Virginia had the top spot in the Big East power rankings locked down going into last weekend, even with South Florida’s hot start. A loss to the No. 1 team in the nation shouldn’t change that, so they are still the top team to me. There may not be a defense in the Big East that can stop Geno Smith in head coach Dana Holgorsen’s air-raid offense.

2. South Florida (4-0)LAST WEEK: W VS. UTEP, 52-24THIS WEEK: @ PITTSBURGH

South Florida is the lone undefeated Big East team and the highest-ranked team, so the Bulls do have a good case for No. 1. B.J. Daniels is having a crazy, good season, and Darrell Scott is playing like the No. 1 running back recruit he was supposed to be at Colorado.

3. Syracuse (3-1)LAST WEEK: W VS. TOLEDO, 33-30 (OT)

THIS WEEK: VS. RUTGERS

Syracuse and Cincinnati are very close for third, but SU’s best win (Wake Forest) trumps the Bearcats’ best win (North Carolina State). The Big East as a whole has many good quarterbacks this year. Ryan Nassib might be the most accurate.

4. Cincinnati (3-1)LAST WEEK: W VS. NORTH CAROLINA STATE, 44-14THIS WEEK: @ MIAMI (OHIO)

The Bearcats can score with the best of them, putting up totals of 72, 59 and 44 points in their three wins. But can they win on the road? Tennessee hung 45 on UC in its only road game. Cincinnati’s next test on the road doesn’t come until Oct. 22 at South Florida.

5. Rutgers (2-1)LAST WEEK: W VS. OHIO, 38-26THIS WEEK: @ SYRACUSE

Rutgers, I’m impressed. The Scarlet Knights have played extremely well through three games after pummeling their FCS opponent, losing a close game against North Carolina and beating a solid Ohio team by double digits. There’s probably a good bet they’ll exceed last year’s four-win total.

6. Pittsburgh (2-2)LAST WEEK: L VS. NOTRE DAME, 15-12THIS WEEK: VS. NO. 16 SOUTH FLORIDA

Maybe Dave Wannstedt was just a scapegoat

and not the real reason for Pittsburgh’s frequent disappointments. The Panthers have failed in tests against Iowa and Notre Dame, twice blowing leads. Ray Graham is putting up huge numbers at running back, but Tino Sun-seri hasn’t played well at quarterback.

7. Louisville (2-1)LAST WEEK: BYETHIS WEEK: VS. MARSHALL

The loss to Florida International was pretty bad. The win over Kentucky, decent. Louisville’s a question mark right now because freshman Teddy Bridgewater might get his fi rst career

start this weekend against Marshall. He could be a difference-maker that propels the Cardi-nals into the upper echelon of the conference.

8. Connecticut (2-2)LAST WEEK: W @ BUFFALO, 17-3THIS WEEK: VS. WESTERN MICHIGAN

At least Paul Pasqualoni has decided on a quar-terback — for now. Johnny McEntee played the majority of last week’s game against Buffalo, so maybe he has won the three-quarterback battle. Still, 17 points against Buffalo is tough to stomach for a team that was in the Fiesta Bowl last year.

mcooperj@syr.edu, @M_Coops_Cuse

s e p t e m be r 3 0 - o c t obe r 2 , 2 0 1 1 5

We’re one-third of the way through the regular season, and despite a 3-1 record Syracuse is hurting. Head

coach Doug Marrone made it clear that his team is literally limping into the start of Big East play this weekend against Rutgers due to injuries.

But overall, the conference that has been the laughing stock of the Bowl Championship Series lately is off to a strong start in the 2011 season. All eight teams are at .500 or better, with South Florida and West Virginia ranked in the Top 25.

With week fi ve comes the beginning of conference play for most teams, in which the mad scramble of Big East play begins. Here’s to another league champion with four or more losses. And here is my Big East hierarchy, prior to Thursday’s South Florida-Pittsburgh game:

1. South Florida (4-0)LAST WEEK: W VS. UTEP, 52-24THIS WEEK: @ PITTSBURGH

The resurgence of B.J. Daniels turns the Bulls into a legitimate conference favorite, especially considering the team scores 45.5 points per game this season. The 4-0 start has USF on the verge of cracking the top 15. Is there a new best team in Florida?

2. West Virginia (3-1)LAST WEEK: L VS. NO. 2 LOUISIANA STATE, 47-21THIS WEEK: VS. BOWLING GREEN

In four games, quarterback Geno Smith has already thrown for more than half of his total yards last season. Welcome to Dana Holgorsen’s high-powered offense. The fi rst-year head coach has this team looking like one of the best in the league despite a slipup against LSU.

3. Cincinnati (3-1)LAST WEEK: W VS. NORTH CAROLINA STATE, 44-14THIS WEEK: @ MIAMI (OHIO)

We all knew quarterback Zach Collaros was good, but who knew this defense could play well. A unit that was torched week after week last season is suddenly tied for fi rst in the coun-

try with 16 forced turnovers. Looks like Zach is saved by the bell this season.

4. Syracuse (3-1)LAST WEEK: W VS. TOLEDO, 33-30 (OT)THIS WEEK: VS. RUTGERS

The Orange is 3-1* heading into conference play following an error by offi cials during last week’s game against Toledo. Quarterback Ryan Nassib has been impressive in 2011, but SU is decimated by injuries at the worst possible time. This weekend could be a skeleton crew against the Scarlet Knights.

5. Rutgers (2-1)LAST WEEK: W VS. OHIO, 38-26THIS WEEK: @ SYRACUSE

Rutgers has arguably the conference’s most impressive nonconference performance, other than USF’s win at Notre Dame, when it nearly beat North Carolina on the road. Mohamed Sanu averages 12 receptions per game and already has four receiving touchdowns for the Scarlet Knights. He’s Robert Woods-good.

6. Pittsburgh (2-2)LAST WEEK: L VS. NOTRE DAME, 15-12THIS WEEK: VS. NO. 16 USF

The Panthers are taking more time to adjust to new head coach Todd Graham’s run-and-gun system than anticipated. Two opening wins against Buffalo and Maine weren’t impressive, but a win over the best team in the conference this weekend would certainly show Pitt is for real in 2011.

7. Louisville (2-1)LAST WEEK: BYETHIS WEEK: VS. MARSHALL

The Cardinals are perhaps the hardest team to get a read on this season. They squeaked out a win over Murray State — yes, Murray State — in week one, then lost to Florida International. A win over Kentucky two weeks ago was a nice rebound, but this team needs to be stronger.

8. Connecticut (2-2)LAST WEEK: W @ BUFFALO, 17-3THIS WEEK: VS. WESTERN MICHIGAN

From conference champion to Big East base-ment, it’s been a rough start to the year for the Huskies. New head coach Paul Pasqualoni inherited very little to work with, and losses to Vanderbilt and Iowa State showed how bad this year’s team will be. Paging Jordan Todman.

mjcohe02@syr.edu, @Michael_Cohen13

M I C H A E L C O H E N

not a dime back

M A R K C O O P E R

and the funky bunch

DOsports.dailyorange.com WEEK 5 POWER RANKINGS

6 s e p t e m be r 3 0 - o c t obe r 2 , 2 0 1 1

STARTING LINEUPS

DID YOU KNOW?

KEY MATCHUPS

KEVYN SCOTTCB

MOHAMED SANUWR

Syracuse has been burned in previous weeks by Chris Givens, Robert Woods and Eric Page. Sanu is coming off a Big East-record 16 catches against Ohio last week. He’s a bigger target at 6 feet 2 inches, 215 pounds, so expect SU’s more physical cornerback, Scott, to cover him.

RYAN NASSIBQB

DURON HARMONSS

Nassib has been spectacular for the Orange this season, throwing nine touchdowns to just one interception and completing 30-of-34 pass-es in the fourth quarter and overtime. Harmon has been a key fi gure for Rutgers on defense, intercepting three passes and taking one back for a touchdown.

DYSHAWN DAVISLB

SAVON HUGGINSRB

A matchup of two true freshmen here. Huggins is much more highly touted, but Davis has had better results on the fi eld this year. Huggins, the highest-rated recruit to ever come to Rut-gers and the No. 1 player in New Jersey in last year’s class, is listed as the starter but has aver-aged less than two yards per carry this year.

NICK PROVOTE

KHASEEM GREENELB

Greene moved from free safety to linebacker last spring and is the Scarlet Knights’ leading tackler this fall with 23 in three games. Provo has come on strong for SU in the last two weeks, with 139 yards receiving and a touch-down in two games.

Saturday, noon, Big East Network

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RUTGERS AT SYRACUSE

RUTGERS OFFENSE19 QB CHAS DODD28 RB SAVON HUGGINS38 FB JOE MARTINEK6 WR MOHAMED SANU81 WR MARK HARRISON10 TE D.C. JEFFERSON66 LT ANDRE CIVIL70 LG DESMOND WYNN59 C DAVID OSEI55 RG BETIM BUJARI72 RT KALEB JOHNSON

RUTGERS DEFENSE90 DE MICHAEL LARROW91 DT JUSTIN FRANCIS94 DT SCOTT VALLONE51 DE MANNY ABREU20 LB KHASEEM GREENE42 LB STEVE BEAUHARNAIS37 LB JAMAL MERRELL25 CB BRANDON JONES32 SS DURON HARMON4 FS DAVID ROWE11 CB LOGAN RYAN

94

Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano, in his 11th season, has coached 125 games with the Scarlet Knights, which is by far the most of any Big East coach at his current position. Doug Marrone has coached the second-most games in the conference, with 29 at the helm for the Orange. Schiano is also just the fourth coach in Big East history to coach 10 seasons at the same school.

Last year, Syracuse’s 13-10 win over Rutgers clinched bowl eligibility for the Orange for the fi rst time since 2004. SU won on a game-winning fi eld goal by Ross Kraut-man.

Other than star wide receiver Mohamed Sanu, no Rutgers player has caught more than fi ve passes this season. Sanu has hauled in 36 of the Scarlet Knights’ 62 comple-tions. Fullback Joe Martinek is second on the team with fi ve receptions.

@TULANEOct. 8, 8 p.m.

SYRACUSE OFFENSE12 QB RYAN NASSIB29 RB ANTWON BAILEY49 FB ADAM HARRIS82 X WR VAN CHEW15 Z WR ALEC LEMON80 TE NICK PROVO67 LT JUSTIN PUGH75 LG ZACK CHIBANE59 C MACKY MACPHERSON66 RG ANDREW TILLER74 RT MICHAEL HAY

BY THE NUMBERS

BEAT WRITER PREDICTIONS

10 6

26

25

80 82

SYRACUSE DEFENSE54 DE MIKHAIL MARINOVICH13 NT DEON GOGGINS96 DT JAY BROMLEY95 DE TORREY BALL33 SLB DAN VAUGHAN11 MLB MARQUIS SPRUILL35 WLB DYSHAWN DAVIS26 H CB KEVYN SCOTT21 SS SHAMARKO THOMAS1 FS PHILLIP THOMAS8 CB KEON LYN

WEST VIRGINIAOct. 21, 8 p.m.

.882The completion percentage for Syracuse

quarterback Ryan Nassib in the fourth quarter and overtime this season. Nassib is 30-of-34 in that timeframe for SU and com-pleted 16-of-16 passes in the fourth quarter and overtime of Syracuse’s fi rst two games

against Wake Forest and Rhode Island.

12Rutgers wide receiver Mohamed Sanu’s aver-

age number of receptions per game, tops in the nation. Sanu set a Big East and Rutgers record with 16 receptions last weekend against Ohio.

10The Syracuse school record for touchdowns

scored in a game, set in 1998 when the Orange blasted Rutgers 70-14. SU’s quarter-

back that day was Donovan McNabb.

1.000SU head coach Doug Marrone’s career win-ning percentage against Rutgers. Syracuse

has beaten the Scarlet Knights in each of the past two seasons under Marrone’s guidance.

8The amount of fumbles recovered by Rutgers this year, tied for the most in the country. The Rutgers defense ranks in the Top 10 nationally in tackles for loss (second) and sacks (third).

MARK COOPERSyracuse 21

Rutgers 13Syracuse beats Rutgers for the third straight year. But

the bigger question is: Will more students use free tick-ets to see New Jersey’s col-lege football team or to see

Jersey Shore’s Deena during Midnight Madness?

MICHAEL COHENRutgers 16

Syracuse 13Who knows what kind of

mix-n-match Syracuse team we will see this weekend. If anyone from the secondary is out, SU won’t be able to cover Mohamed Sanu. SU

gets burned by another out-standing receiver.

ZACH BROWNRutgers 20

Syracuse 17There’s going to be a point

when all these injuries become too much for Syra-cuse to overcome. I say it’s

this weekend against the Scarlet Knights.

“I’m not sitting here saying, ‘Woe is me’ worrying about this football team. I’m just saying that we have some tough decisions to make and that we’re going to go out there and fi ght.”

Doug MarroneSU HEAD COACH

“I think it’s a very well-rounded team. You can tell they take on coach Marrone’s personality. They’re tough, blue-collar. They remind me of us. They play extremely hard. It’s going to be a great football game. It’s going to be a tough road test for us in the Dome. Get loud. We need to go up there and play Rutgers football. I expect them to play Syracuse football. It should be a great college football game.”

Greg SchianoRUTGERS HEAD COACH

@ LOUISVILLEOct. 29, time TBD

SYRACUSE ON OFFENSE

RUTGERS ON OFFENSE

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S P O R T S @ D A I L Y O R A N G E . C O M

NO. NAME POS. HT. WT. CLASS1 Phillip Thomas FS 5-11 190 Jr. 2 Olando Fisher SS 5-10 207 Sr. 3 Durell Eskridge FS 6-2 196 Fr. 4 Brandon Reddish CB 5-10 179 Fr. 5 Marcus Sales WR 6-0 183 Sr. 6 Ritchy Desir CB 5-11 168 Fr. 6 Terrel Hunt QB 6-3 203 Fr. 7 Jonny Miller QB 6-1 212 So. 7 Oliver Vigille LB 6-3 212 Fr. 8 Corey Edsall QB/P 5-11 211 Fr. 8 Keon Lyn CB 6-1 190 So. 9 Ri’Shard Anderson CB 6-1 189 Jr. 10 Dorian Graham WR 5-10 185 Sr. 11 Marquis Spruill LB 6-1 216 So. 12 Ryan Nassib QB 6-2 229 Sr. 13 Deon Goggins DT 6-1 272 Sr. 14 John Kinder QB 6-3 181 So. 15 Alec Lemon WR 6-2 202 Jr. 15 Shu Mungwa SS 6-1 207 Fr. 16 Keenan Hale WR 6-2 185 Fr. 16 James Jarrett SS 6-2 202 Jr. 17 Charley Loeb QB 6-4 212 Jr. 18 Siriki Diabate LB 5-10 210 Jr. 18 Nick Raven TE 6-4 230 So. 19 Ryan Lichtenstein K 5-11 161 Jr. 20 Mitchell Piasecki FB 5-11 252 Fr. 20 Greg Tobias RB 5-10 169 So.21 Shamarko Thomas SS 5-10 208 Jr. 22 Adrian Flemming WR 6-3 196 So. 23 Prince-Tyson Gulley RB 5-9 181 So. 24 Jaston George CB 5-10 159 Fr. 25 Jeremiah Kobena WR 5-11 180 Fr. 26 Kevyn Scott CB 5-11 208 Gr. 27 Nathaniel Forer QB 6-3 228 Fr. 27 Joe Nassib CB 5-9 170 So. 28 Jeremi Wilkes FS 5-9 189 So. 29 Antwon Bailey RB 5-7 201 Sr. 30 Steve Rene RB 5-7 176 So. 31 Clay Cleveland FB 6-0 236 So. 32 Travon Burke RB 6-1 253 Fr. 33 Dan Vaughan LB 6-2 219 Sr. 34 Tombe Kose FB 5-9 240 Sr. 35 Dyshawn Davis LB 6-3 213 Fr. 36 Adonis Ameen-Moore RB 5-10 244 Fr. 37 Ross Krautman K 5-7 155 So. 37 Chris McKenzie FS 5-10 206 So. 38 Cameron Lynch LB 5-11 223 Fr. 39 Dom Anene LB 6-1 224 Jr. 40 Zachary McCarrell LB 5-11 188 So. 41 Shane Raupers P 5-9 184 Jr. 41 Donnie Simmons DE 6-2 226 Fr. 42 Shane Kimmel FB 6-1 232 Sr.

NO. NAME POS. HT. WT. CLASS43 Mario Tull RB 6-0 207 So. 45 Jerome Smith RB 5-11 213 So. 46 Jonathan Fisher P 6-1 209 Fr. 47 Sam Rodgers LS 6-1 215 Fr. 48 Carl Cutler FB 6-3 250 Sr. 49 Adam Harris FB 6-2 248 Sr. 50 Femi Aliyu LB 5-11 215 So. 51 Eric Crume NT 6-0 332 Fr. 52 Ollie Haney NT 6-2 290 R-Sr.53 Lucas Albrecht DT 6-2 255 Fr. 54 Mikhail Marinovich DE 6-5 253 Sr. 55 Rob Trudo C 6-3 300 Fr. 56 Cory Boatman NT 6-1 281 Sr. 58 Lewellyn Coker LB 6-1 218 So. 59 Macky MacPherson C 6-2 269 So. 60 Sean Hickey OT 6-6 282 So. 61 Eric Morris LS 5-9 227 Jr. 62 Andrew Phillips OT 6-6 279 Jr. 63 Ryan Sloan DT 6-4 324 Fr. 65 Jarel Lowery OG 6-3 309 Sr. 66 Andrew Tiller OG 6-5 334 Gr. 67 Justin Pugh OT 6-6 292 Jr. 68 Nick Robinson OT 6-6 295 Fr. 70 Jesse Wolf-Gould OL 6-4 321 Fr. 71 Ivan Foy OG 6-4 318 Fr. 72 Nick Lepak OG 6-5 363 Sr. 74 Michael Hay OT 6-5 283 Sr. 75 Zack Chibane OG 6-5 293 Jr. 76 Ian Allport C 6-5 296 Sr. 77 Lou Alexander OG 6-4 331 Jr. 79 Kristofer Curtis OT 6-3 291 Fr. 80 Nick Provo TE 6-4 249 Gr. 81 Louie Addazio TE 6-3 241 Fr. 82 Van Chew WR 6-1 175 Sr. 83 Max Beaulieu TE 6-3 240 So. 84 Michael Acchione WR 5-11 174 Sr. 85 Beckett Wales TE 6-3 253 So. 86 David Stevens TE 6-3 231 Sr. 87 Kyle Foster WR 6-3 207 Fr. 88 Jarrod West WR 6-2 204 So. 89 Thomas Trendowski TE 6-2 242 R-Sr. 90 Cayden Feifer WR 5-11 169 Jr. 91 Brandon Sharpe DE 6-2 245 Jr. 92 Riley Dixon K/P 6-5 202 Fr. 92 Robert Welsh NT 6-2 260 So. 93 Micah Robinson DE 6-4 252 So. 94 Daniel Anyaegbunam DT 6-3 288 So. 95 Torrey Ball DE 6-4 253 Sr. 96 Jay Bromley DT 6-3 280 So. 97 Macauley Hill WR 6-0 198 Fr. 98 Kyle Ishman WR 6-1 181 So. 99 Chandler Jones DE 6-5 265 Sr.

8 s e p t e m be r 3 0 - o c t obe r 2 , 2 0 1 1

SYRACUSE

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RUTGERSNO. NAME POS. HT. WT. CLASS1 San San Te PK 5-9 178 5th-Sr. 2 Gareef Glashen DB 5-10 181 So. 3 Darrell Givens DB 6-1 184 Jr. 4 David Rowe DB 6-0 195 Sr. 5 Timothy Wright WR 6-4 221 Sr. 6 Mohamed Sanu WR 6-2 215 Jr. 7 Quron Pratt WR 6-0 185 Jr. 8 Max Issaka DE 6-3 255 Fr. 8 Rashad Knight DB 5-11 192 So. 9 Tejay Johnson WR 6-2 186 Fr. 10 D.C. Jefferson TE 6-6 258 Sr. 11 Logan Ryan DB 6-0 190 Jr. 12 Marcus Cooper DB 6-2 187 Sr. 12 Tyler Bellia QB 6-4 225 Jr. 13 Ka’Lial Glaud LB 6-2 230 Jr. 13 Paul Hamersma QB 6-3 177 Fr. 14 Miles Shuler WR 5-10 170 Fr. 15 Gary Nova QB 6-2 210 Fr. 16 Mike Bimonte QB 6-4 215 Fr. 16 Stephen Belichick LS 5-11 185 Sr. 17 Brandon Coleman WR 6-6 220 So. 18 Jeremy Deering RB 6-2 205 So. 19 Chas Dodd QB 6-0 200 So. 20 Khaseem Greene DB 6-1 220 Sr. 21 Lorenzo Waters DB 6-0 195 So. 22 Jawaun Wynn WR 6-3 210 So. 23 Jawan Jamison RB 5-8 198 So. 24 Mason Robinson DB 5-10 185 5th-Sr.25 Brandon Jones DB 6-1 186 Sr. 26 Johnathan Aiken DB 5-11 186 Fr. 27 Wayne Warren DB 6-1 205 Sr. 28 Savon Huggins RB 6-0 200 Fr. 29 Jordan Thomas DB 6-1 190 So. 30 Edmond Laryea LB 6-1 223 Sr. 30 Ben Martin RB 5-11 186 Fr. 31 David Milewski LB 6-4 231 So. 32 Duron Harmon DB 6-1 201 Jr. 33 Jawann Westerman WR 5-11 177 5th-Sr. 33 Anthony Milito LB 5-11 248 Fr. 34 Paul James RB 6-0 195 Fr. 35 John Clarke DB 5-9 174 Fr. 35 Shane Meisner LB 6-3 250 So. 36 Travis Patterson RB 5-8 205 Sr. 37 Jamal Merrell LB 6-4 220 Jr. 38 Joe Martinek FB 6-0 220 5th-Sr. 39 Paul Canevari FB 5-11 220 Fr. 40 Sean Barowski FB 6-2 236 Fr. 41 Rob Horrell LS 5-10 189 So. 41 Robert Joseph FB 6-2 220 Jr. 42 Steve Beauharnais LB 6-2 235 Jr. 43 Nick DePaola LB 6-0 205 Jr. 44 Sam Bergen LB 6-0 235 So. 45 Kevin Snyder LB 6-3 225 Fr. 46 Dallas Whitaker LB 6-2 210 Fr.

NO. NAME POS. HT. WT. CLASS46 Michael Burton FB 6-0 232 So. 47 Patrick Kivlehan DB 6-2 211 Sr. 48 Griffi n Murray LB 6-1 219 Fr. 48 Marcus Thompson DE 6-2 260 So. 49 Myles Jackson DE 6-4 230 Fr. 50 Quentin Gause LB 6-1 224 Fr. 51 Manny Abreu DE 6-3 260 5th-Sr.52 Eric LeGrand DT 6-2 275 Sr. 54 Justin Mills LB 6-1 228 So. 55 Betim Bujari OL 6-4 290 So. 56 Marvin Booker LB 6-2 240 Sr. 57 Frank Quartucci OL 6-4 300 So. 58 Fred Overstreet LB 6-1 223 So. 59 David Osei OL 6-4 280 Jr. 60 Caleb Ruch OL 6-4 298 5th-Sr. 61 Bryan Leoni OL 6-6 270 So. 62 Chris Fonti OL 6-7 308 So. 64 Nicholas Libonati OL 6-3 285 Sr. 65 Dallas Hendrikson C 6-2 295 Jr. 66 Andre Civil OL 6-3 275 Jr. 67 Hugh Ahern OL 6-7 289 So. 68 Matt McBride OL 6-6 294 Jr. 70 Desmond Wynn OL 6-6 295 5th-Sr. 71 Devon Watkis OL 6-7 316 Sr. 72 Isaac Holmes DL 6-3 272 Jr. 72 Kaleb Johnson OL 6-4 298 Fr. 73 Desmond Stapleton OL 6-5 280 5th-Sr.74 Keith Lumpkin OL 6-8 292 Fr. 75 Antwan Lowery OL 6-4 301 Jr. 76 Marquise Wright DL 6-3 295 Fr. 77 Art Forst OL 6-8 310 Sr. 78 Taj Alexander DL 6-4 290 So. 79 Jorge Vicioso OL 6-6 296 So. 80 Phil Lewis WR 6-2 193 Jr. 81 Mark Harrison WR 6-3 230 Jr. 82 J.T. Tartacoff WR 5-11 191 So. 84 Beau Bachety TE 6-4 259 Sr. 85 Robert Jones LS 6-0 210 Jr. 86 Tyler Kroft TE 6-6 220 Fr. 87 Kyle George DE 6-3 251 Fr. 88 Malcolm Bush TE 6-4 245 Jr. 89 Paul Carrezola TE 6-2 241 Jr. 90 Michael Larrow DL 6-4 265 Jr. 91 Justin Francis DL 6-4 275 5th-Sr. 92 Jamil Merrell DL 6-4 255 Jr. 93 Nick Borgese PK 5-11 178 Fr. 93 Djwany Mera DE 6-4 260 Fr. 94 Scott Vallone DT 6-3 275 Sr. 95 Nick DeLouisa PK 6-3 196 So. 95 Kenneth Kirksey DL 6-1 270 Fr. 96 Anthony DiPaula P 6-1 190 Fr. 97 Justin Doerner P 6-2 200 Jr. 98 Daryl Stephenson DL 6-3 280 Fr. 99 Al Page DL 6-2 280 Fr.

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THURSDAYPittsburgh 44, No. 16 South Florida 17In desperate need of a win, Pittsburgh pun-ished the South Florida defense with a domi-nant running game in a 44-17 win on Thurs-day. Pitt running back Ray Graham sped down the fi eld with ease on most drives, rushing for 226 yards on 26 carries. The Panthers snapped a two-game losing streak, while the Bulls suffered their fi rst loss of the season.

SATURDAYCincinnati (3-1, 0-0 Big East) @ Miami (Ohio) (0-3, 0-1 Mid-Ameri-can Conference), 1 p.m., ESPN3Quarterback Zach Collaros and the Bearcats have scored more than 100 points in their last two games and look to carry that offen-sive momentum into Oxford, Ohio, Saturday afternoon. Cincinnati is coming off back-to-back thrashings of Akron and North Carolina State and could easily earn a blowout victory for the third straight week. The Bearcats beat Miami 45-3 last year. Miami enters the game having the 38th-ranked total defense in the nation, allowing an average of 333.3 yards per game. Last week, Bowling Green put up 37 points on the RedHawks. Their defense will have to be better on Saturday for a chance to stop Collaros and company.

Marshall (1-3, 1-0 Conference USA) @ Louisville (2-1, 0-0 Big East), 3:30 p.m., Big East NetworkThe Cardinals earned a 24-17 victory over Kentucky in their last game, but starting quarterback Will Stein suffered a shoulder injury early in the second quarter. His status is uncertain for Saturday’s matchup against the Thundering Herd, but luckily for Louis-ville, the Cardinals have an adequate backup. Freshman Teddy Bridgewater proved he can

hold his own when he fi lled in for Stein against the Wildcats. He completed 10-of-18 passes, throwing for 106 yards and two touchdowns. The Thundering Herd will look to avoid its third straight loss, having allowed a combined 74 points in its last two contests.

Western Michigan (2-2, 1-0 Mid-American Con-ference) @ Connecticut (2-2, 0-0 Big East), 3:30 p.m., Big East NetworkThe .500 Huskies look to nab a winning record heading into Big East play. Last year’s conference champions have shown the potential to limit some opposing offenses, hold-ing Buffalo and Fordham to just three points each. How-ever, the Huskies defense has been inconsistent, allowing 24 points each to Vanderbilt and Iowa State. And it could be in for another long day against Western Michigan. The Broncos have tal-lied more than 20 points in each of their last three games, including a 44-point outburst against Central Michigan on Sept. 17.

Bowling Green (3-1, 1-0 Mid-Ameri-can Conference) @ No. 22 West Vir-ginia (3-1, 0-0 Big East), 3:30 p.m., Big East Network Geno Smith has led an explosive Mountain-eers offense with 1,471 passing yards and nine touchdowns through four games this season. No. 22 West Virginia’s lone blem-ish of the season came to No. 1 Louisiana State last week. Against one of the best defenses in the country, WVU scored three touchdowns and Smith threw for a school-record 463 yards. With one of the country’s

top receivers to throw to in Tavon Austin, it’s hard to imagine the Bowling Green defense — the same defense that allowed 28 points to Wyoming — keeping Smith and the Moun-taineers offense in check.

NEWS NOTESMcEntee establishing himself as starterJohnny McEntee separated himself from the three-quarterback shuffl e at Connecticut. The Huskies started the year with four quar-terbacks, with one career start among them competing for the starting spot. After throw-ing the ball only 12 times in UConn’s season opener against Fordham, he saw increased attempts and completions in the following two weeks and took almost all of the snaps in last week’s 17-3 win over Buffalo.

McEntee completed 12-of-21 passes against the Bulls for a career-best 213 yards and two touchdowns — the fi rst and sec-ond of his career. And McEntee has proven capable of taking shots down fi eld. After hooking up for a 64-yard gain earlier in the Buffalo game, McEntee found wide receiver Nick Williams on a crossing route late in the 4th quarter for a 49-yard touchdown.

Banged-up Cardinals take advan-tage of bye weekAfter winning a hard-fought battle with Ken-tucky on Sept. 17, the Cardinals bye week could not have come at a better time. Many key players were injured, including starting quarterback Will Stein, who suffered a shoul-der injury early in the second quarter against the Wildcats.

The Cardinals do have a somewhat proven backup in freshman Teddy Bridgewater — who threw for two touchdowns against Kentucky — but they may not need to throw the young signal-caller into the fi re against Marshall.

Center Mario Benavides, a starter in 2010, has yet to appear in a game this season after injuring his ankle in training camp.

Strong said Benavides may see his fi rst action of the year Saturday.

Cincinnati prepares for Battle of the Victory BellCincinnati and Miami (Ohio) have one of the most historic rivalries in college football, facing off for more than a century. The fi rst offi cial matchup was Dec. 8, 1988, and there have been 114 matchups since then, with the RedHawks leading the all-time series record 59-49-7. For the Bearcats, rivalry games are nothing new. In fact, the Battle for the Vic-tory Bell is just one of three rivalry games Cincinnati plays annually. UC also has rival-ries with Big East opponents Pittsburgh and Louisville.

—Compiled by Stephen Bailey, asst. copy editor, sebail01@syr.edu

10 s e p t e m be r 3 0 - o c t obe r 2 , 2 0 1 1

AROUND THE BIG EAST

PassingNAME SCHOOL PASS YARDS/GAMEGeno Smith West Virginia 367.8B.J. Daniels South Florida 267.8Ryan Nassib Syracuse 234.8Tino Sunseri Pittsburgh 205.8Will Stein Louisville 205.0

RushingNAME SCHOOL RUSH YARDS/GAMERay Graham Pittsburgh 127.0Isaiah Pead Cincinnati 106.0Lyle McCombs Connecticut 91.5Darrell Scott South Florida 87.0Antwon Bailey Syracuse 79.5

ReceivingNAME SCHOOL RECEIVING YARDS/GAMEMohamed Sanu Rutgers 121.0Tavon Austin West Virginia 105.8Stedman Bailey West Virginia 86.0Van Chew Syracuse 69.8Ivan McCartney West Virginia 67.5

STATISTICAL LEADERS

AND

Pittsburgh 3-2 (1-0)

Cincinnati3-1 (0-0)

Syracuse3-1 (0-0)

22 West Virginia3-1 (0-0)

Louisville2-1 (0-0)

Rutgers2-1 (0-0)

Connecticut2-2 (0-0)

16 South Florida4-1 (0-1)

1

2

STANDINGS

2

2

5

5

7

8

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around the nation

Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford 57-of-85, 786 yards, 8 TD, 1 INTLuck’s presence on everyone’s Heisman list isn’t going to change until the Cardinal loses a game. After passing for 325 yards and two touchdowns against Arizona in the third week of the season, No. 6 Stanford sat idle last week. Luck could do nothing to hurt his candidacy. His success in 2011 has been a bit unconventional, completing six of his eight touchdown passes to one of his three tight ends.

Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor70-of-82, 962 yards, 13 TDs, 0 INTs24 carries, 167 yards, 1 TDWho can stop Robert Griffin? Griffin has thrown more touchdown passes (13) than incompletions (12) through three games this season. He has single-handedly made No. 15 Baylor a contender in the Big 12 conference. With Griffin leading the way, the Bears have the No. 2 total offense in the nation. He has yet to throw an intercep-tion, and he has passed for 320.7 yards per game. The big question is whether or not Griffin can keep the offense rolling in its first road test of the season against Kansas State this weekend.

Marcus Lattimore, RB, South Carolina107 carries, 611 rushing yards, 8 TDs12 receptions, 139 receiving yards, 1 TDLast week was the first week that Lat-timore was partially contained. He still gained 77 yards rushing and 73 yards receiving to go with a pair of touchdowns, though. Lattimore wasn’t asked to do much, as South Carolina’s defense held Vanderbilt to 77 yards of total offense in its 21-3 victory. It wasn’t an earth-shattering performance for Lattimore, but he proved he could make plays in a variety of ways.

Kellen Moore, QB, Boise State83-of-105, 995 yards, 12 TDs, 2 INTsKellen Moore has to take advantage of every marquee matchup on No. 4 Boise State’s schedule. And he has to put up big numbers against inferior opponents. So far, he’s done it. Against then-No. 19 Georgia, Moore threw for 261 yards and three touch-downs to lead the Broncos to a 35-21 vic-tory. The next week against Toledo, Moore threw for 455 yards and five touchdowns. Moore added four more touchdowns against Tulsa last week, bringing his totals to 995 passing yards and 12 touchdowns in three games. The staggering output will have to continue if he hopes to win the Heisman Trophy out of the Mountain West Conference.

Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama67 carries, 441 yards, 8 TDs9 receptions, 121 yards, 1 TDIt’s never easy replacing a Heisman Trophy winner. But No. 3 Alabama hasn’t skipped a beat with Trent Richardson carrying the load in Mark Ingram’s place. Richardson has been the focal point of the Crimson Tide offense through four games. He ran 17 times for 126 yards and caught 3 passes for 85 yards and one touchdown in last weekend’s huge conference matchup against then-No. 14 Arkansas. Richardson has accounted for almost half of Alabama’s touchdowns this season, scoring nine of the team’s 19. This weekend will be a good barometer for Richardson as Alabama travels to Gainesville, Fla., to face No. 12 Florida.

—Compiled by Andrew Tredinnick, asst. copy editor, adtredin@syr.edu

heiSMan hoPeFuLS

Criminal charges against Louisiana State quarterback Jordan Jeffer-son stemming from a bar fight have been reduced to a misdemeanor. The news led to the end of his suspension from the team, as head coach Les Miles said he and linebacker Josh Johns — who was also involved in the incident — would be back at practice Thursday. The Tigers didn’t miss a beat without their starting quarterback, going 4-0 and rising to the No. 1 ranking behind Jarrett Lee. Miles said Lee will remain the starter, but Jefferson will see time because of his running ability.

Boise State’s rise as a perennial Bowl Championship Series buster is surrounded by questions after the NCAA imposed additional sanctions on the program. The Broncos football staff set up impermissible summer housing and transportation for 63 recruits from 2005-09, violations of NCAA rules. The school will appeal the football sanctions, but accept

ones in tennis and track. School president Bob Kustra said it was tough for Boise State to keep up with compliance rules due to the football program’s unprecedented growth in the last decade from Division II to BCS con-tender.

Southern California head coach Lane Kiffin is also dealing with the NCAA because of violations com-mitted while he was at Tennessee. Willie Mack Garza, an assistant with the Vol-unteers at the time, paid for a top recruit and his mother’s airfare to Knoxville, Tenn., for an unofficial visit. Garza had followed Kiffin to USC but resigned on Sept. 1. The recruit, Lache Seastrunk, is also at the center of an investigation at Oregon, where he commit-ted and spent one season before transferring to Baylor. In this case, Garza sent the money to Willie Lyles, a talent scout who is also a major figure in the Oregon case.

—Compiled by Ryne Gery, asst. sports editor, rjgery@syr.edu

No. 3 Alabama (4-0, 1-0 SEC) @ No. 12 Florida (4-0, 2-0 SEC), 8 p.m., CBSFlorida and Alabama have both started the season undefeated behind prolific rushing attacks and stout run defenses. Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps power a run game for the Gators that leads the Southeastern Confer-ence in rushing with 259 yards per game. The Crimson Tide features the tandem of Trent Richardson and Eddie Lacy, and aver-ages 230.8 yards on the ground — good for second in the conference. Both teams boast top-five run defenses in the country. This one may come down to which team can contain the other’s rushing attack.

No. 8 Nebraska (4-0, 0-0 Big Ten) @ No. 7 Wisconsin (4-0, 0-0 Big Ten), 8 p.m., ABCThis game could be a preview of the first-ever Big Ten championship game in Decem-ber. If Nebraska wins the Legends division and Wisconsin takes the Leaders division, they would match up in the conference title game. The winner of the game Saturday also has a clear path to an undefeated regular season, making it a national title contender. Nebraska has just one current ranked team left on its schedule — No. 19 Michigan. And Wisconsin’s lone ranked opponent is No. 24 Illinois. Both teams have been impressive thus far with quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Taylor Martinez leading the way. Both are considered dark horses for the Heisman Trophy early in the season.

No. 13 Clemson (4-0, 1-0 ACC) @ No. 11 Virginia Tech (4-0, 0-0 ACC), 6 p.m., ESPN2After a weak stretch of four games to open the season, Virginia Tech will be tested against Clemson. The Tigers have already beaten then-No. 21 Auburn and then-No. 11 Florida State in high-scoring affairs. Clemson has relied on its offense to carry the team to wins in both games, racking up nearly 1,100 yards of offense. Quarterback Tajh Boyd is the top quarterback in the Atlantic Coast Conference, leading the league with 1,255 yards and throwing for 13 touchdowns to just one interception. Virginia Tech relies on its trademark tough defense as it leads the conference in sacks and is second in inter-ceptions in 2011.

No. 14 Texas A&M (2-1, 0-1 Big 12) vs. No. 18 Arkansas (3-1, 0-1 SEC), 12 p.m., ESPNTexas A&M will soon be matching up with Arkansas as a conference rival in the Southeastern Conference. But for now, the Southwest Classic being played at Cowboys Stadium is just a chance for each team to get back on track after losing to top conference competition last week. The Aggies suffered a crushing loss to then-No. 7 Oklahoma State, blowing a 20-3 halftime lead to lose 30-29. The Razorbacks were dominated by No. 3 Alabama 38-14. The matchup is the third annual game being played between the two, with Arkansas winning the previous two.

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maybe at the next level is that when these young players become injured, you have to kind of coach them through the injury,” Mar-rone said. “Not that they ever jeopardize themselves, but a lot of these players have never truly been injured before playing at this high level.”

The injuries have affected the Orange’s abil-ity to prep for Rutgers. SU hasn’t added new packages or plays this week because of the lack of personnel. The coaches also haven’t game-planned as much as normal for red-zone, goal-line and short-yardage situations.

But the health issues haven’t forced SU to slow down practice. Marrone said it was too early in the season to do that despite all the injuries.

“You need to practice to get better,” he said. “Then you put other people in there and they have to practice at full speed to get the continu-ity going. And you just have to go.”

But with all these injuries, opportunities have opened up for some of SU’s younger play-ers. And the head coach said that is the biggest positive to take out of this situation.

Freshman linebacker Cameron Lynch had a career-high eight tackles and his first sack against Toledo. His playing time has increased each game. Defensive ends Torrey Ball and Brandon Sharpe have combined for 22 tackles and 1.5 sacks in taking over for Jones.

“You have some younger kids or maybe older players that finally get a shot that are able to get up there and go and play,” Marrone said.

In the secondary, the backups have been taking reps since the injuries started piling up in preseason camp. Brandon Reddish and Jer-

emi Wilkes have seen significant playing time already this season. Marrone said freshman corner Ritchy Desir also has a good chance of getting in the game against the Scarlet Knights this week.

“We did a good job in camp rotating a lot of guys,” the redshirt senior Scott said earlier this year. “We became used to playing with Jeremi Wilkes at safety or Phillip Thomas or Olando Fisher. We had a lot of rotation going through-out camp.”

Marrone added that even with all the adversi-ty coming through these injuries, the Orange’s goal this week doesn’t change. Especially since it’s the conference opener.

“It could be any team in the Big East that we’re playing and it would be a big week,” he said. “Each week’s a big week because it gives us an opportunity to win.”

zjbrown@syr.edu

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“It’s very diffi cult right now what we’re doing with the game plan. We’ll probably take some stuff out, and, unfortunately, it’s very diffi cult to add stuff. It kind of gets you in a little bit of a bind because if you don’t do enough, it can get ugly quick.”

Doug MarroneSU HEAD COACH