Doug Marrone Delivers for Syracuse

When Doug Marrone took the job as the head coach at Syracuse University, he addressed the Orange faithful at halftime of the Syracuse-Notre Dame basketball game in front of 30,000 fans. "I started my coaching career I had a dream, and every decision that I made, I made with the thought that the end result, that I would be the head football coach at Syracuse University."

Doug Marrone continued "I am here, and my responsibility is to win football games. That is what we're going to do." In just his second year at the helm of the Orangemen football team he once captained, Doug Marrone has done what many analysts and pundits called impossible. Most talking heads around the country looked at our program and said we were finished. The majority of high school seniors knew Syracuse as only one thing, a laughing stock (thanks to Marrone's predecessor Greg Robinson).

However, in a very short amount of time, Doug Marrone has taken this program out of the dregs of college football and transformed the Orangemen back into a competitive, hard nosed, no nonsense football team.

To Doug Marrone's credit, he has done his part. He turned our football team into a winner. After going 4-8 in his inaugural campaign, HCDM has steered the 2010 Orangemen to an 8-5 final record and a 2010 New Era Pinstripe Bowl Championship in just his second year on the hill.

Doug closed his speech inside the Carrier Dome that night by saying "Now, for the people that are going to grow up and be an alumnus like myself, we need to make this place the hardest place to play in the country. We need you, we need everyone. This is our state, our town, our team, and we gotta win. Now! Go Orange!"

This is the fan's moment to respond. Doug Marrone did his part. He gave us back a winner. He gave us back a football team we can be proud of. He took the punchline off our jersey and returned a jersey with pride and passion. Now Syracuse fans need to do their part!

We need to sell out the Carrier Dome. This team deserves it. They deserve 50,000 fans every Saturday. They deserve our support, just like we show our basketball team. The Carrier Dome is one of the toughest venues in the country for college basketball, and it needs to have the same energy and excitement for Doug Marrone's football squad. Let's be honest, 50,000 fans isn't that many. It's not as if we need to find 80,000 fans to turn out to sell out our stadium.

There were a couple home games down the stretch this season where the student turnout was, simply put, DISGRACEFUL. There were two entire sections of student reserved seating that were utterly empty, and on more than one occasion. Even in the days of Greg Robinson's putrid coaching displays the student body had pride in their team and went out to the games (sometimes GROB's ways drove the fans away early but they went to the games every week).

This generation of students needs literally WAKE UP and go to the Carrier Dome. As I said, Doug Marrone upheld his end of the deal. His part was the hardest. He had the challenge of turning a 10-loss team into a winner. All we have to do is watch the games!

There's no excuse for the student turnout we witnessed this season. And it better not happen again.

In Doug We Trust.

Practice Underway for Pinstripe Bowl

With tickets flying off the shelves and many Syracuse fans preparing to travel down to Manhattan for the Inaugural Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium, the Syracuse Orangemen football team resumed practice this week at the newly renovated Manley Field House.

There is enough excitement to go around surrounding the trip to the Big Apple. While the basketball team enjoys a trip to New York City several times a year, this will be the first time many SU Football players will travel to Manhattan.

Antwon Bailey is one of those players and plans on making it a memorable trip. "I want to see the big Christmas tree [in Rockefeller Center]. I saw it on Home Alone." Clearly expectations are high.

On the field, Syracuse practiced in helmets and shoulder pads without head coach Doug Marrone. HCDM is out on the recruiting trail and left the team in the capable hands of Scott Shafer, Nathaniel Hackett, Tyrone Wheatley, Greg Adkins and Jim Brumbaugh.

On Tuesday Van Chew was not in pads and watched from the sidelines. According to a trainer he was just resting a nagging groin injury and the usual bumps and brusies that come with a college football season. Da'Mon Merkerson and Delone Carter were on the field in pads however did not take part in the contact portion of practice. They both participated in sprints.

With Rob Long recovering from an apparently successful surgery to remove a brain tumor, Syracuse has been practicing Ryan Lichtenstein at punter for the Pinstripe Bowl. Lichtenstein was a walk-on place kicker last season. Also working on punting was walk-on quarterback James Jarrett.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

The Regular Season Finale: Syracuse v. Boston College

It seems like just yesterday we were settling in to watch the opening game against Akron. It was September 3rd, and Syracuse would go on to win their season opener for the first time since the 2003 season. It's been that kind of year. The kind of season where everywhere you turn, Syracuse was doing something they hadn't done since 2001, 2003, 2004. Every week was another benchmark achievement.

When the Orangemen jumped out to a 3-1 mark, it was the first time since 2003. When Syracuse defeated South Florida, it was the first time the program was 4-1 since 1999. Defeating West Virginia on the road? Hadn't happened since 2000. Going to a bowl game? Not since 2004. Winning 7 or more games in a season? Not since 2001.

So Saturday, Syracuse wraps up this season of "first time since's" when Boston College enters the Carrier Dome, for the first time since 2003. The last time the two squads squared off was November 27th, 2004, six years to the day. On that fateful day, Syracuse stomped out BC 43-17 on the road, preventing Boston College from going to their first ever BCS bowl game in the school's history, and sending them out of the Big East without the Conference title. After the game, Diamond Ferri, who was superhuman on that day, stated "If they want to leave the conference, we wanted to send them out with a loss."

No one could have predicted this though. Diamond Ferri, filling in for an injured Damien Rhodes and Walter Reyes, ran for 141 yards on 28 carries and two touchdowns. He wasn't finished. He was still playing defense and intercepted Matty-Ice in the 4th quarter, returning the ball 44 yards to the house. For his efforts, Diamond Ferri was named Big East Offensive and Defensive player of the week. With that, Syracuse and Boston College's 45 game series (Syracuse has the edge 28-17) came to an end.

Until now.

After a six year hiatus which saw Syracuse get run into the ground by some clown currently "coordinating" the Michigan Defense, and Boston College defect to the Atlantic Coast Conference, the rivalry resumes on Saturday in the Carrier Dome at 12PM. The game will be televised live on ESPN.

Since departing the Big East, the Eagles have enjoyed some success on the field. They have gone to the ACC Championship game twice and have posted winning records each season since the defection. This year however, they have had somewhat of a down season. Boston College is 6-5, and went 4-4 in the ACC. They haven't beaten any ranked teams, and their offense is ranked in the 90s for the majority of offensive categories.

Boston College's starting running back Montel Harris is out with a torn left lateral meniscus, so his 1,243 yards on 269 attempts and 8 touchdowns won't be an issue. True freshman Andre Williams will take his place. He has 206 yards on 34 rushing attempts and no scores, yet. Syracuse fans shouldn't hang their hat on the fact that the star RB is out for BC, seeing how well Bilal Powell of Louisville's back up performed in the Carrier Dome a few weeks ago.

Boston College's quarterback is Chase Rettig. Thankfully, Syracuse's defenders know how to handle a QB with the first name Chase, or Chas (same difference). Rettig has completed 75 of 142 attempts for 1,007 yards and 6 scores. He has also thrown 6 interceptions and been sacked 13 times. Chase Rettig has won 4 straight starts to help save the season for Boston College.

The main receiving target for the Eagles is Bobby Swigert (6'1" 180 pounds). Swigert has 33 catches for 476 yards and 4 touchdowns. Alex Amidon (5'11" 185 pounds) has 11 catches for an amazing 301 yards and two touchdowns. He made 3 catches for 102 yards in a game against North Carolina State this year. Tight end Chris Pantale (6'6" 244 pounds) has 24 catches this season for 225 yards and 1 touchdown. Additionally, Ifeanyi Momah (6'6" 228 pounds) has 19 catches for 296 yards and 3 touchdowns. Don't ask me how to pronounce that name because I have no idea.

Boston College's defense has averaged 20.6 points per game against, which ranks 31st in the country. They also allow an average of 316.5 total yards per game, 16th best mark in the nation to go along with 18 interceptions this season, which is tied for 3rd most in the country.

With Boston College averaging 1.6 interceptions per game, Ryan Nassib will have to be sharp if Syracuse wants to win this game. Nassib has completed 174 of 313 passing attempts this season for 1,948 yards and 16 touchdowns. He has helped steer the Orangemen to a 7-4 overall record and 4-3 in the Big East. Unfortunately for Nassib, he hasn't looked great at home since the beginning of the Big East schedule.

Luckily for Syracuse, this isn't a Big East game anymore. Syracuse was 0-3 at home this year against conference opponents. No word yet on how well they perform against "former" conference teams, however against non-conference teams Syracuse is 2-0 at home.

Delone Carter enters the Dome with 1,005 rushing yards on the season, and 59 yards away from passing Larry Csonka on Syracuse's All-Time Rushing Leaders list for 3rd place All-Time. Helping out of the backfield is Antwon Bailey, who has 432 yards on 89 carries and an additional 29 receptions for 252 yards, with 4 combined touchdowns.

Van Chew continues to lead the receiving corp, however he has been getting increased help from tight end Nick Provo. Over the last two weeks, Marcus Sales has stepped up and asserted himself as a reliable member of the group, pushing his season total to 16 catches for 169 yards. He has lead the Orangemen in receiving yards the last two weeks. Alec Lemon was held to just one catch last week after missing the Rutgers game, and seems to still be feeling some effects of the arm injury that kept him out of the game in Piscataway, NJ.

Syracuse's Defense have been the story this season. Ranked 13th in points against, they have allowed just 18.3 points per game. With an average of 293.2 yards per game against, the defense ranks 6th in the nation in yards allowed. Syracuse's secondary has done a tremendous job, allowing just 161.9 yards on average per game, and are 9th in total passing yards allowed in the country. If Syracuse can stop the run, which they have failed to do in the last two home games against Louisville and Connecticut, they should be able to pull off the victory Saturday.

Saturday is a Syracuse sports fan's dream. The day will start at 12:00PM with the Syracuse-Boston College football game on ESPN and then will be followed at either 5:30 or 8:00 (depending on Friday's outcome) with a basketball game from the Legends Classic in Atlantic City. With a win, Syracuse would finish this memorable season 8-4.

Not to be forgotten in all this is the fact that it is also Senior Day in the Carrier Dome. Doug Marrone stressed the importance earlier this week of sending our boys out the right way, with a victory. These seniors endured two years of misery under Greg Robinson and a year of rebuilding the program under Doug Marrone. They emerged from it with the chance to finish their final season of college football with an 8-4 record and have earned the program's first trip to a bowl game since 2004.

No matter what it was a season to remember for all the players, not just the seniors, but these seniors deserve to play their last game in the Carrier Dome the right way. In front of a sell out crowd and with a victory!

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

Bob Casullo No Longer Coach at Syracuse

In a surprise move, given that there is only 1 week left in the regular season, Doug Marrone has chosen to "part ways" with Assistant Coach Bob Casullo. According to HCDM, "Bob and I have decided that it's in the best interest of the program to part ways."

Casullo rejoined the Syracuse University community after holding coaching jobs at Georgia Tech, Michigan State, and numerous NFL coaching positions. He was asked by Doug Marrone to join him on the Hill last season to help restore the Orangemen tradition. Casullo coached Special Teams and Tight Ends.

John Anselmo, defensive backs coach, will take over the Special Teams coaching duties and Quarterback coach Nathaniel Hackett will add Tight Ends to his responsibilities.

It's a surprise move considering there is just one week left in the regular season. With Syracuse going to a bowl game for the first time in what feels like a decade, one would have assumed that Marrone would have kept Bob Casullo along for the ride.

However, with special teams being an extremely disappointing area of the football program going back to last season and carrying over into this season, many observers felt that Casullo would not be back for the 2011 season.

It's an early move, but a move that had to be made. If Syracuse wants to beat Boston College and whoever they will face in a bowl game, they will need the offense, the defense and the full potential of the special teams unit to be successful.

YES WE CAN!! (Syracuse Is Going Bowling!)

SYRACUSE 13

RUTGERS 10

Needing just one victory to declare themselves bowl eligible for the first time since the 2004 season, the Syracuse University football team traveled to Rutgers Stadium in Piscataway, NJ. With the weather turning from warm and sunny to brisk and dark and the game knotted at 10-10 with 3:51 left in regulation, the Syracuse football team got the pigskin back for the offense following a missed 45 yard field goal attempt by Rutger's San San Te.

Syracuse got the ball on their own 33 yard line. Sixty-seven yards between the Orangemen and the post season. With Alec Lemon inactive due to an arm injury, forgotten receiver Marcus Sales was back on the field, and making his presence known. On the final drive of the game, Sales grabbed two catches for 20 yards and Antwon Bailey provided 37 yards on the ground to help keep the chains moving for the Orangemen. Delone Carter chipped in roughly 10 yards on the drive, and Syracuse was set up 1st and 10 at the Rutgers 16 yard line. After three safe plays Doug Marrone called upon Ross Krautman to come on and try to give Syracuse the lead.

Just like he has done all season, Ross Krautman (out of Franklin Lakes, NJ) trotted onto the field with nothing but ice water in his veins. Ross Krautman, playing like a man possessed this season, drilled the 24 yard field goal to give Syracuse a 13-10 lead, and Syracuse fans everywhere were 1:09 away from seeing the unthinkable.

The defense followed the offense onto the field and held Rutgers to a turnover on downs to secure the win for the Orangemen. The win, Syracuse's fifth on the road this season, leads the nation, and gives Syracuse a perfect four road wins in four tries in the Big East. This is the first time Syracuse has ever won four Big East road games.

After the game senior punter Rob Long said it all. "It's awesome. We had tears of joy. We knew we did it as a team." Doug Marrone said after the game that "they're a team of great character. They trust in each other. They believe in each other."

For all the years of heartache and just truly ugly, ugly football under the tutelage of Greg Robinson, Doug Marrone has returned to Syracuse University and lead the Orangemen back to the post season in just two seasons. The prodigal son has returned to pull Syracuse out of the depths of football obscurity, out of the doldrums of irrelevance, and has returned the Orangemen not just into respectable competitors, but into victors as well.

Ryan Nassib finished the day completing 16 of 31 passing attempts for 214 yards 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Nassib was sacked six times, however made the plays in the final minutes of the game to lead the Orangemen down the field and into scoring range. Marcus Sales, filling in for injured Alec Lemon, played unbelievably hauling in 5 catches for 73 yards to lead Syracuse, and Nick Provo added 4 catches for 60 yards. Antwon Bailey caught the lone touchdown pass and finished with 44 receiving yards to go along with 50 rushing yards (94 total yards on the day).

Bailey also had a fumble late in the first half, although it didn't end up costing the Orangemen. In fact, Syracuse turned the ball over three times in the first half, however they held the Scarlet Knights to just 3 first half points.

The loss drops the Rutgers Scarlet Knights to 4-5 on the year, and just 1-3 in the Big East. Rutgers ran for 216 yards, mainly out of the wildcat. One facet of the game not found on the stat sheet was the number of times Rutgers players stayed down after the play seemingly injured only to be seen moments later in perfect health and going right back into the game. Someone should look into how many extra time-outs Rutgers gets from those shenanigans, because it was happening all game. Particularly in the second half.

Syracuse has two home games remaining on their regular season schedule, before their long awaited trip to a bowl game. Saturday Syracuse will host Connecticut at 7PM and the following Saturday, the Orangemen will host former Big East foe Boston College in the regular season finale.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

Syracuse's Road Warriors Return Home to Face Louisville

After winning two straight road games against West Virginia and Cincinnati the Syracuse Orangemen are coming home. This Saturday Syracuse will kickoff in the Carrier Dome against the Louisville Cardinals at noon on SNY. The Orangemen come back to the Dome sporting an impressive 6-2 record (3-1 in Big East play) and are just one win away from bowl eligibility. With a win on Saturday, Syracuse will ensure the program's first winning season since 2001 and their first bowl bid since the 2004 season.

Louisville comes to the Carrier Dome with an overall 4-4 record, 1-2 in the Big East and a laundry list of injuries. The Cardinals lost their last contest against Pittsburgh 20-3 and may be without their starting running back Bilal Powell, who suffered a knee injury in the game. Powell has 1,067 yard this season on 153 attempts and 9 rushing touchdowns along with 12 catches for 118 yards and 1 touchdown. Bilal Powell has the 5th most rushing yards in the nation and if he is unable to play Victor Anderson will get the majority of the carries. Anderson, who has 245 yards on 48 rushing attempts, missed the last three games for the Cardinals, including last weeks game against Pittsburgh, with a shoulder injury. However, he has been cleared to play against Syracuse on Saturday, although it is doubtful he will be 100% healthy.

Cardinals starting quarter back Adam Froman is another question mark going into the game on Saturday. Froman has yet to practice this week and has been seen on campus with crutches, however without any kind of cast or boot. Reports state that Froman has a thigh bruise, but no word yet on his status for Saturday. Froman has completed 132 of 218 passing attempts for 1,633 yards and 11 touchdowns with 4 interceptions. If he is unable to go Justin Burke will get the start. Burke is a senior who has only thrown 7 passes this season, completing 5 of them for 40 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT. He transferred to Louisville via North Carolina State and started three games last season. In 2009 Burke completed 49 of 97 passing attempts for 654 yards and 3 touchdowns. Unfortunately for the Cards he also threw 5 interceptions.

When Adam Froman is healthy he likes to spread the ball around on offense. Doug Beaumont leads the receiving corp with 31 catches for 358 yards and 1 touchdown. Josh Bellamy leads the team in touchdown grabs with 4, and has 18 catches for 284 yards. Cameron Graham has 23 catches for 269 yards 3 touchdown grabs, and Josh Chichester has 13 catches for 215 yards and 2 scores. Lastly, Andrell Smith has 12 catches for 118 yards and 1 touchdown to round out the likely targets.

Louisville's defense enters the Carrier Dome allowing just 18.8 points per game which is 21st best in the nation. The Cardinals also allow 318.8 yards per game which is 25th best in the country. Due to the possibility of a depleted offense and with Syracuse's dynamic defense, it could be a long afternoon for the Cardinals defenders, which will certainly slow them down and make them vulnerable to big plays.

The Syracuse Orangemen are not without injuries. Starting offensive tackle Michael Hay has yet to practice this week and has been sporting a boot on his left foot on the sidelines. In his place has been Ian Allport, who is 6'4" 320 pounds, and Andrew Phillips who is 6'6" and 280 pounds. While Hay had an extremely bad start to the season, he has settled down the last two weeks and provided adequate blocking on the offensive line. Head coach Doug Marrone has not ruled Hay out for Saturday's game yet.

Additionally, Prince-Tyson Gulley has been ruled inactive for the second straight game as he is currently battling mono. With Gulley out Syracuse just has two eligible runners in their backfield, Delone Carter and Antwon Bailey. As long as the Orangemen don't suffer any more injuries they should be fine, however Adam Harris has also seen an increased work load due to the thin numbers in the backfield. Wide receiver Van Chew did not participate in practice on Tuesday, however he was back on the field Wednesday and head coach Doug Marrone said he was just giving Chew a day of rest.

Scott Shafer's defense has been the catalyst for Syracuse's success this season, and currently rank 13th in the country in average yards allowed per game with 298.5. Orangemen D is also 14th in the nation in points allowed, averaging just 17.5 per contest. After a brutal defensive showing in their last home game versus Pittsburgh, expect to see the defense get after it on Saturday. They have been playing too good to come home and pull another disappearing act.

On offense it has been business as usual for the Orangemen. They have been running down opponents throats and punishing defenders along the way. Ryan Nassib bounced back from a rough outing in Morgantown to complete 16 of 26 passing attempts for 125 yards and 2 touchdowns (1 interception) in the win against Cinci last week. He will need to continue to protect the football and not put it on the turf if Syracuse wants to continue the winning ways this Saturday.

Delone Carter and Antwon Bailey's dynamic duo has continued to perform as Carter showed no ill-effects from his hip injury in Morgantown. Carter ran for 109 yards on 19 carries last week. Antwon Bailey scored two touchdowns in Cincinnati last week, 1 rushing 1 receiving, and finished with 68 combined yards from scrimmage in the win. If the duo can stay healthy and continue to pick up positive yardage then this train can keep on rolling!

The Orangemen were also able to get big contributions out of their tight ends this past week. Nick Provo caught 4 passes for 40 yards to lead the team in receiving yardage and Jose Cruz made 3 catches for 20 yards. Provo caught a huge pass on 4th down and 3 for 19 yards to set up Syracuse's first touchdown.

Tune in Saturday at 12PM to catch the live action on SNY when Syracuse takes on Louisville in the Carrier Dome. With a win Syracuse will improve to 7-2 on the year, become bowl eligible for the first time since 2004, and ensure the first winning season for the football program since 2001. Tickets are still available and I highly encourage all Syracuse-Area fans to be in attendance.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

[UPDATE: Louisville RB Bilal Powell and QB Adam Froman are both ruled OUT on Saturday, as is OL Michael Hay for Syracuse.]

Interesting Info on the Syracuse Football Schedule

In the ideal world of college football all games would be played on Saturday. That's how it used to be. Before we sold out common sense for dollar signs, in a game where the athletes get zero dollars for their services. In 2010's reality there are prime time games played on Wednesdays, Thursdays and of course Friday nights. Due to Syracuse's poor record the last five or so years the Orangemen have rarely played a football game on any day other than Saturday. That doesn't stop Syracuse's opponents from picking up mid-week time slots though.

When Syracuse traveled to Morgantown to take on West Virginia on Saturday Syracuse hadn't played a game since the previous Saturday. Makes sense. West Virginia on the other hand played their previous week's game on Thursday night, allowing them two extra days of rest. Thankfully, the outcome of the game was not determined by how much rest the Mountaineers received. Perhaps they were rusty from the long layover between games?

When Syracuse travels to Cincinnati for this week's conference match up Saturday at noon, the Bearcats will be coming off a Friday night game, another extra day of rest for a Syracuse opponent. Will the extra day of rest be a factor in the game? Especially for a team that doesn't have to travel?

November 13th's opponent is the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, another road game for the Orangemen. Rutgers will be playing the week before on a Wednesday night in South Florida on November 3rd. Syracuse of course plays the Saturday prior at home against Louisville and will travel down to New Jersey for the football game on the 13th. Three extra days of rest for Rutgers to get healthy, no big deal?

As if that wasn't enough rest for opponents against the Syracuse Orangemen, the following week Syracuse will finally host a team coming off extended rest, the Connecticut Huskies at the Carrier Dome on November 20th. UCONN's previous game will be the Thursday night before, against Pittsburgh at home. Just another two days of rest to prepare for the cuse.

That's quite the alarming trend this season, especially when you consider 4 of the 7 conference games Syracuse plays the other team has an extended period to get healthy. That doesn't even factor in that Syracuse has only one bye week this year while most Big East teams have two.

The big question is does it matter? There's two schools of thought. One, that the team with the rest will get rusty and out of game shape, while Syracuse has played more recently and are prepared to play every single Saturday, and sharper because of it. Then there's the thought that Syracuse will need the extra days rest particularly towards the end of the season when players get dinged up and may benefit from a few more days off between games. Especially Syracuse's defense which has been a catalyst for the teams 5-2 record.

The truth is until we play the games we will not know the true effect it will have. It's equally disappointing to find out that not only do these teams get extra rest, but they also do not have to travel more often and have the comforts of playing at home. This is in addition to their off days. That's a very interesting thing to consider when looking at Syracuse's remaining schedule and the quest for the Orangemen's first bowl bid since 2004.

Never the less, Syracuse is still 5-2 overall, 2-1 in Big East play and in control of their own bowl destiny. Doug Marrone and the team can not afford to look at the schedules and make excuses for what ever happens down the road. All they can do is keep playing games, and hopefully, keep winning them as well.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

The Evolution of Doug Hogue

When Doug Hogue arrived on campus in the summer of 2007 he was rated the 31st best running back in the East by Scout.com, and 4th best prospect in the state of New York. At Roosevelt High School in Yonkers Doug Hogue played both running back and linebacker and was selected to participate in the New York/New Jersey All-Star Classic. In an injury shortened senior year Hogue rushed for 589 yards and 2 touchdowns and averaged 12.5 tackles per game. Clearly Doug was no stranger to the defensive side of the ball.

As a true freshman for then coach Greg Robinson Hogue played in 9 games, one of nine true freshman to play that season. With four starts under his belt that year, Hogue was the 2nd leading rusher on the team, finishing with 251 yards on 77 carries. His best game of the season came against Buffalo when Hogue filled in for an injured Curtis Brinkley. Doug Hogue rushed for 83 yards on 24 carries and his first career touchdown.

Doug's sophomore season didn't go as well as he would have liked, only starting in two games and playing in 11, running behind Curtis Brinkley and Antwon Bailey. In both starts Hogue had a combined seven carries for 15 yards. However, against Rutgers Doug Hogue scored on an 82-yard touchdown run, the longest in SU history since Bruce Yancy scored on an 83 yard rush in 1953. Hogue finished his sophomore season with just 35 rushing attempts for 232 yards and three touchdowns (2 rushing 1 receiving).

In 2009 there was a change on the Hill. Greg Robinson was finally relieved of his "duties" as head coach (although its hard to call what GROB was doing 'coaching'). In his place was former Syracuse Orangemen offensive linemen Doug Marrone. Marrone played at Syracuse between 1983-1985 under Dick MacPherson and came to SU from the New Orleans Saints of the NFL where he served as the Offensive Coordinator for Sean Payton.

One of Doug Marrone's first coaching decisions was moving Doug Hogue from the platoon at running back to the defensive side of the ball. Marrone felt the move would be the best thing for the football team and add much needed speed to the defense. In the summer of 2009 Doug Hogue was officially moved to outside linebacker next to another former running back, Derrell Smith.

In Hogue's junior year it did not take long for the move to pay off positively for the Orangemen. In his first career start at linebacker against Minnesota in the Dome, Hogue recorded four tackles. Two weeks later against Northwestern Hogue led the defense with 11 tackles, seven of them solo. A week later against South Florida, Hogue added another 5 tackles and his first career sack.

Towards the end of the season against Rutgers Hogue had seven tackles, 6.5 of them for a loss, which was a new Syracuse record, 1 forced fumble and 3.5 sacks. For his heroic efforts in the game Hogue was named the Walter Camp Football Foundation National Defensive Player of the Week. Hogue finished his junior season with 72 tackles, 49 of them solo, 9 sacks, 1 forced fumble and an interception. Doug Hogue averaged .79 sacks per game, which was 21st best in the nation and 2nd best in the big east. Doug was also first in the Big East with 1.33 tackles for a loss per game, 20th best in the nation.

This brings us to 2010, Doug Hogue's senior season. Hogue kicked his senior season off in style with 5 tackles, a sack, and a blocked field goal attempt on the road in Akron. Last week against Pittsburgh Doug Hogue had a team high 12 tackles, 1.5 for a loss.

And then Syracuse traveled to West Virginia. In a game for the ages, Syracuse's defense shut down the high flying Mountaineer offense, holding on for a monumental 19-14 victory. Dominating on the defensive side of the ball was none other than Doug Hogue, the running back turned linebacker by Doug Marrone. Hogue finished the day with 10 tackles, 8 of them solo, two interceptions, half a sack and knocked down a passing attempt. This performance earned Doug Hogue his second Walter Camp Football Foundation National Defensive Player of the Week award, and gave Syracuse a 5-2 overall record, 2-1 in the Big East. Hogue was also named the Big East Defensive Player of the Week, although that should come as no surprise.

With five games left in the regular season, Syracuse will continue to rely heavily on Doug Hogue to help earn the team their first trip to a bowl game since the 2004 season. Syracuse needs just two more wins to become bowl eligible.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

Syracuse Looks to Get Back on Track in Morgantown

This Saturday the Syracuse University Orangemen are traveling to Morgantown to take on the West Virginia Mountaineers. Coming off an extremely disappointing loss at home to Pittsburgh on Homecoming Weekend (45-14), the Syracuse Orangemen are facing their toughest opponent of the season. Head Coach Doug Marrone calls Milan Puskar Stadium (Mountaineer Field) one of the toughest venues in all of college football, and in his opinion WVU is one of the Top-10 football teams in the country.

Syracuse has not beaten West Virginia since 2001, when the Orangemen won 24-13 in the Carrier Dome. The last time Syracuse won in Morgantown was in 2000 when the Orangemen defeated the Mountaineers 31-27. Following that game long time WVU coach Don Nehlen announced his retirement. As always, The Ben Schwartzwalder Trophy will be on the line. WVU has won the trophy 8 straight games.

The Mountaineers (5-1, 1-0 Big East) are ranked 20th overall in the AP Top 25 and 19th in the USA Today Coaches Poll. WVU is coming off a 20-6 win over the South Florida Bulls and have a defense that is ranked 3rd nationally in Points Allowed. For a Syracuse offense that struggled to set up a running game against the Panthers defense last week, the Orangemen are going to have their work cut out for them. West Virginia's lone loss came at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge when LSU beat them 20-14. LSU is now the #6 team in the country.

WVU's rushing defense has allowed 83.2 yards per game, which is 4th best in the nation. Their 248.5 total yards per game allowed is 5th best in the country. Doug Marrone is going to have to out coach, out wit, and out scheme WVU head coach Bill Stewart if Syracuse has any dreams of walking out of that stadium with a win. If the Orangemen had any trick plays up their sleeves that they have been saving, this is the game we will want to execute them!

On the other side of the ball for the Mountaineers, they are equally as dangerous as they are scary. Sophomore quarterback Geno Smith is coming into the game with 1,358 passing yards 14 touchdown passes and just 2 interceptions with 121 completions in 177 passing attempts. Syracuse can not just load up the box and dare Smith to beat the defense through the air, because he will have no trouble finding receivers.

So far this season, Geno Smith has found seven different receivers for a touchdown. Tavon Austin has 32 receptions for 413 yards and 2 scores. Jock Sanders (is that his real name?) has 36 catches for 317 yards and 2 TDs. Stedman Bailey has 13 catches for 195 yards and 3 TDs. Brad Starks has 6 catches for 145 yards and 4 TDs. Their passing offense is EXTREMELY balanced as you can tell, and Syracuse's defensive backs and safeties are really going to have to be in top form if Syracuse wants to keep this game close.

Out of the backfield WVU has more weapons, most notably Noel Devine. Devine has 103 carries on the year for 504 yards and 4 rushing touchdowns. Add that to his 17 catches for 126 yards and another TD catch, that gives him 5 total TDs on the year. In each of the first 3 games Devine rushed for over 100 yards, however he hasn't hit 100 yards in a game since. So we have that going for us. Another option at running back for WVU is Ryan Clark who has 43 rushes for 151 yards and a score. Devine is their go-to-runner and can beat Syracuse single handedly if Syracuse does manage to shut down Geno Smith's passing attack.

As for Syracuse, Ryan Nassib needs a MUCH better performance after last week's debacle against Pittsburgh. Nassib threw two interceptions, one of which was returned 80 yards for a touchdown. Overall, if Syracuse has any chance at all of being in this game they cannot turn the ball over. Not even once. Syracuse's execution has to be perfect. Marrone cannot be afraid to air out the ball and if Syracuse's rushing attack is getting stuffed at the line, the Orangemen can not afford to waste drives going 3 and out running up the gut twice.

On special teams, Syracuse simply can not afford any big returns. Giving WVU a short field is a death sentence and giving up points on special teams will surely spell doom for the Orangemen.

Defensively the Orangemen must play out of their minds. They need to be lights out. They have to get to Geno Smith, knock him down early and often. The linebackers need to identify the rush or the pass and get in position to make a play. If they sit back and wait for the game to come to them they are going to be embarrassed. The entire defense needs to anticipate the play and be extremely aggressive. That is the only way Syracuse can stay in this game.

If this preview of the Mountaineers hasn't scared Syracuse fans away from this game, than tune into ESPN2 at 12:00PM for the kickoff. It will be the Orangemen's first nationally televised game of the year. Syracuse is 4-2 overall, 1-1 Big East.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

Ryan Nassib's Time to Step Up

Through the first four games of the season Ryan Nassib has looked like the first real quarterback to put on a Syracuse Orangemen uniform since the departure of Donovan McNabb. Syracuse fans have watched Troy Nunes, R.J. Anderson, Perry Patterson, Andrew Robinson, and Cameron Dantley take snaps under center for the Orangemen. We have also been witness to Duke point guard Greg Paulus playing at QB (as weird as that is to type its true). There has been the two headed QB by committee system and there has been outright confusion. Overall, one thing Syracuse has lacked since the late 1990s is a true quarterback.

Enter Ryan Nassib.

In just four career starts, Nassib has already set the record for most TD passes in a single game at Syracuse. Of course it came against the Maine Black Bears, but five touchdown passes in one game is still quite the accomplishment at the college level. Through the early part of the season Nassib has been 61 of 105 pass attempts, 860 yards with 9TD passes and 2 INTs. Now the true test comes. Now is the time for Nassib to show the fans that he isn't just a quarterback that can beat up on lesser opponents. He must prove to everyone that he can perform at a high level against the faster and bigger Big East defenses as well.

Not just a passer, Ryan Nassib has the wheels to run for positive yardage. He moves very well in the pocket and has rushed for 70 net yards this season and 1 touchdown. Nassib has the arm to throw the ball down field to deep threat Van Chew, and he can gun the ball over the middle for quick slants to slot receiver Alec Lemon and Antwon Bailey out of the back field as well. For a team that came into the season with big question marks at wide receiver, Nassib is making the most of the targets he has. Ryan Nassib currently has the highest passing efficiency rating in the conference at 151.4, good enough for 24th overall in the country.

After the loss of Aaron Weaver many SU fans were concerned about the depth at the WR position. Antwon Bailey showed Coach Marrone that he can be a lethal player out of the backfield and our tight ends have shown an ability to not only catch the ball, but pick up yards after the catch as well, most notably Nick Provo. Syracuse's offense hasn't skipped a beat since the season ending injury to Weaver and we are all hoping that the lack of a #3 receiver doesn't burn the team later in the year.

Now the true test for Nassib begins. This Saturday the Orangemen travel to Tampa, Florida to take on the South Florida Bulls. Syracuse has never beaten South Florida since USF joined the Big East in 2005. Of course their arrival to the conference coincided with Greg Robinson's arrival on the Hill so that shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. This year though Syracuse fans everywhere have a reason to believe that the Orangemen have a CHANCE to win this game.

Both teams enter 3-1 and both teams have beaten up on squads with a combined record of 2-10 thus far in 2010. Ryan Nassib has to be the quarterback that takes over the game. He must continue to make time in the pocket with his feet and stretch the defense with attacks through the air. If Nassib can continue to excel within Syracuse's attack, than SU will finally have an opportunity to return to a bowl game for the first time since 2004.

Now is the time for Ryan Nassib to show Orangemen fans that he belongs.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com