SYRACUSE - When Greg Robinson's third season as head coach at Syracuse ended with yet another lopsided loss, he was as frank as he could be.
“We were 2-10 this season. That's the bottom line,” said Robinson, whose record dropped to 7-28 after Saturday's 52-31 loss to Big East rival Cincinnati. “We have to grow from everything we have been through. The bottom line is this - you don't quit. We just have to get better.”
No kidding.
As the Orange try to put another sorry season in the rearview mirror, an awful lot of issues have to be addressed, and quickly. Chief among them is whether Robinson will be back to coach another year.
“No, I'm not worried about my job. I'm never worried about my job,” said Robinson, the architect of two 10-loss seasons, the only ones in school history. “I just work every day. I go to work every day and do the very best I can do. I just worry about things I can control.”
One thing Robinson can't control is his fate, which rests with the man who hired him, athletic director Daryl Gross. Gross is evaluating what's happened on the field, but there is sentiment in the school administration to give Robinson one more year because he's been working with many players recruited by his predecessor, Paul Pasqualoni.
Most observers expected improvement in 2007 (Robinson's first team was 1-10 and last fall went 4-8). Instead, the Orange put up these sorry numbers: 1-6 and last in the Big East; 62.7 yards rushing and 291.9 yards of offense per game; nine sacks and 54 sacks allowed; 4.6 yards per punt return; 16.42 points per game and 34.8 points allowed per game; and total defense of 468.7 yards allowed per game.
All of those statistics rank 107th or worse among the 119 teams that play at college football's top level.
Still, there were bright spots: sophomore wideout Mike Williams had an outstanding season (60 receptions for 837 yards and 10 TDs), catching at least one touchdown pass in a school-record nine games; Taj Smith had 44 catches for 822 yards and five TDs; and sophomore quarterback Andrew Robinson demonstrated he could excel if given a chance - he was 29-for-47 for 419 yards and three TDs and no interceptions against Cincinnati despite being sacked 11 times. He also threw for 423 yards and four scores in a 38-35 road win over No. 18 Louisville in September.
That the Orange lost their starting backfield from 2006 didn't help matters. Delone Carter, who led the team with 713 yards and 4.6 yards per carry as a freshman, was lost for the entire season after dislocating a hip in April. And Curtis Brinkley, who rushed for 571 yards and 4.1 yards per carry last fall, suffered a broken bone in his right leg in the Orange's 20-12 win over Buffalo last month and missed the final five games.
Both are expected to play again in 2008, but if the offensive line woes aren't mended quickly, it's difficult to imagine dramatic improvement.
When Gross introduced Robinson to the public in January 2005, he touted the coach's prowess as a defensive guru (Robinson won two Super Bowl rings with the Denver Broncos and a national championship at Texas) because of his firm belief that defense wins championships. The Syracuse defense has been ranked in the bottom 10 in the nation twice under Robinson, who loses key starters from this year's squad in defensive end Jameel McClain, free safety Joe Fields, and defensive back Dowayne Davis.
The cover of this year's media guide has “SUDDEN IMPACT” printed along the bottom in big letters. What has been sudden and had a great impact financially on the university during Robinson's brief tenure is the increasing number of empty seats in the Carrier Dome each week. In 21 homes games over the past three seasons, more than 260,000 seats have not been sold. In Pasqualoni's final three years, the team went 16-20 and the figure was just under 160,000.
Despite all the negativity that surrounded the team, there wasn't a discernible dropoff in effort right to the bitter end, and Robinson and his staff have to be given credit for that.
“The work ethic this team has couldn't be duplicated by anybody,” McClain said.
No kidding.
As the Orange try to put another sorry season in the rearview mirror, an awful lot of issues have to be addressed, and quickly. Chief among them is whether Robinson will be back to coach another year.
“No, I'm not worried about my job. I'm never worried about my job,” said Robinson, the architect of two 10-loss seasons, the only ones in school history. “I just work every day. I go to work every day and do the very best I can do. I just worry about things I can control.”
One thing Robinson can't control is his fate, which rests with the man who hired him, athletic director Daryl Gross. Gross is evaluating what's happened on the field, but there is sentiment in the school administration to give Robinson one more year because he's been working with many players recruited by his predecessor, Paul Pasqualoni.
Most observers expected improvement in 2007 (Robinson's first team was 1-10 and last fall went 4-8). Instead, the Orange put up these sorry numbers: 1-6 and last in the Big East; 62.7 yards rushing and 291.9 yards of offense per game; nine sacks and 54 sacks allowed; 4.6 yards per punt return; 16.42 points per game and 34.8 points allowed per game; and total defense of 468.7 yards allowed per game.
All of those statistics rank 107th or worse among the 119 teams that play at college football's top level.
Still, there were bright spots: sophomore wideout Mike Williams had an outstanding season (60 receptions for 837 yards and 10 TDs), catching at least one touchdown pass in a school-record nine games; Taj Smith had 44 catches for 822 yards and five TDs; and sophomore quarterback Andrew Robinson demonstrated he could excel if given a chance - he was 29-for-47 for 419 yards and three TDs and no interceptions against Cincinnati despite being sacked 11 times. He also threw for 423 yards and four scores in a 38-35 road win over No. 18 Louisville in September.
That the Orange lost their starting backfield from 2006 didn't help matters. Delone Carter, who led the team with 713 yards and 4.6 yards per carry as a freshman, was lost for the entire season after dislocating a hip in April. And Curtis Brinkley, who rushed for 571 yards and 4.1 yards per carry last fall, suffered a broken bone in his right leg in the Orange's 20-12 win over Buffalo last month and missed the final five games.
Both are expected to play again in 2008, but if the offensive line woes aren't mended quickly, it's difficult to imagine dramatic improvement.
When Gross introduced Robinson to the public in January 2005, he touted the coach's prowess as a defensive guru (Robinson won two Super Bowl rings with the Denver Broncos and a national championship at Texas) because of his firm belief that defense wins championships. The Syracuse defense has been ranked in the bottom 10 in the nation twice under Robinson, who loses key starters from this year's squad in defensive end Jameel McClain, free safety Joe Fields, and defensive back Dowayne Davis.
The cover of this year's media guide has “SUDDEN IMPACT” printed along the bottom in big letters. What has been sudden and had a great impact financially on the university during Robinson's brief tenure is the increasing number of empty seats in the Carrier Dome each week. In 21 homes games over the past three seasons, more than 260,000 seats have not been sold. In Pasqualoni's final three years, the team went 16-20 and the figure was just under 160,000.
Despite all the negativity that surrounded the team, there wasn't a discernible dropoff in effort right to the bitter end, and Robinson and his staff have to be given credit for that.
“The work ethic this team has couldn't be duplicated by anybody,” McClain said.
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cheeko wrote on Nov 27, 2007 1:57 PM: