SYRACUSE - Defensive tackle Arthur Jones was all smiles at midweek. He knew exactly what to expect when Syracuse hit the practice field.
Watching tape of the Orange's 30-10 season-opening loss at Northwestern only served as a reminder.
“Tackling was a big issue in the game. There was a lot of missed tackles,” said Jones, who had four stops, including one for a loss. “But that game's over. You've got to move on. I'm worried about Akron now.”
And the Zips are worried about Jones.
“My biggest concern is No. 97. He's a great player,” Akron coach J.D. Brookhart said of Jones, a native of Endicott, who ranked ninth nationally with 1.59 tackles for loss per game last season.
Syracuse hosts Akron on Saturday to begin an important four-game homestand, and it's a must-win situation for the Orange and fourth-year head coach Greg Robinson, whose overall record of 7-29 has him on the hot seat. Picked to finish last in the Big East and struggle to win more than two games, Syracuse also plays Northeastern of the Football Championship Subdivision, No. 19 Penn State, and Big East foe Pittsburgh in the Carrier Dome in September.
The first meeting between Akron and Syracuse is a reunion of sorts for the coaches. When Brookhart left a six-figure job in the corporate world to pursue a passion for coaching football in the mid-1990s, he landed a nonpaying position with the Denver Broncos. Robinson, defensive coordinator for the Broncos at the time, took Brookhart under his wing, made him more involved in the coaching end, and helped him land his first college coaching job at Pittsburgh.
But Brookhart's focus remains on the game.
“I really haven't thought that much about it, except that I really like Greg. He's a great guy and he was very good to me,” Brookhart said. “Other than that, it's just football. We're both doing the same thing. Everybody's playing to win.”
The Zips lost their season-opener, 38-17, at No. 11 Wisconsin, but they only trailed 17-10 at halftime.
“They made some mistakes that kept us in the game,” Brookhart said. “If we had our chances, we certainly didn't take advantage of them. They handled us up front pretty good in the run game. That part was real disappointing.
“Defensively, I think we're going to find out a whole lot more about us this week. Offensively, at times we showed some good things. We weren't very consistent. We missed opportunities, but I felt like we were growing.”
In the opener against Northwestern, Syracuse allowed the Wildcats to hold the ball for nearly 10 of the final 12.5 minutes of the game and never responded after an interception return for a touchdown late in the third quarter.
Quarterback Andrew Robinson had an off-day, unable to take much advantage against a defense that allowed 243 yards passing per game last fall. Robinson finished 14-for-28 for just 103 yards, a poor 3.7 yards per pass attempt. He was also called for intentional grounding in his own end zone that resulted in a safety and threw the interception, the decisive play of the game.
“We had too many mistakes,” said tailback Delone Carter, who gained 45 yards on six carries in a triumphant return after sitting out last season with a dislocated hip. “We can't start that again.”
What the Orange have started doing again is running the ball effectively. After averaging just 2 yards per carry in 2007, the worst mark in the nation, Syracuse gained 122 yards rushing against Northwestern, an average of just over 4 yards per carry. Look for the Orange to use tailbacks Carter, Curtis Brinkley and Doug Hogue a lot on Saturday because the Zips allowed 408 yards and four TDs rushing in their loss at Wisconsin.
“Their defense running-wise didn't play that well last week, that's obviously something we're going to look for, try to capitalize on,” Andrew Robinson said. “Our running game is a lot better than it's been the last four years, and I have to play better.”
The Orange felt they let one slip away last week after gaining a 10-9 lead over the Wildcats early in the third quarter.
“I was disappointed that we didn't win,” Jones said. “But I saw a lot of positives, a lot of flashes of good things. We got turnovers and we had a lot of three-and-outs. It was a big improvement from last season.”
On TV
• Akron at Syracuse, 3:30 p.m., TW-26
“Tackling was a big issue in the game. There was a lot of missed tackles,” said Jones, who had four stops, including one for a loss. “But that game's over. You've got to move on. I'm worried about Akron now.”
And the Zips are worried about Jones.
“My biggest concern is No. 97. He's a great player,” Akron coach J.D. Brookhart said of Jones, a native of Endicott, who ranked ninth nationally with 1.59 tackles for loss per game last season.
Syracuse hosts Akron on Saturday to begin an important four-game homestand, and it's a must-win situation for the Orange and fourth-year head coach Greg Robinson, whose overall record of 7-29 has him on the hot seat. Picked to finish last in the Big East and struggle to win more than two games, Syracuse also plays Northeastern of the Football Championship Subdivision, No. 19 Penn State, and Big East foe Pittsburgh in the Carrier Dome in September.
The first meeting between Akron and Syracuse is a reunion of sorts for the coaches. When Brookhart left a six-figure job in the corporate world to pursue a passion for coaching football in the mid-1990s, he landed a nonpaying position with the Denver Broncos. Robinson, defensive coordinator for the Broncos at the time, took Brookhart under his wing, made him more involved in the coaching end, and helped him land his first college coaching job at Pittsburgh.
But Brookhart's focus remains on the game.
“I really haven't thought that much about it, except that I really like Greg. He's a great guy and he was very good to me,” Brookhart said. “Other than that, it's just football. We're both doing the same thing. Everybody's playing to win.”
The Zips lost their season-opener, 38-17, at No. 11 Wisconsin, but they only trailed 17-10 at halftime.
“They made some mistakes that kept us in the game,” Brookhart said. “If we had our chances, we certainly didn't take advantage of them. They handled us up front pretty good in the run game. That part was real disappointing.
“Defensively, I think we're going to find out a whole lot more about us this week. Offensively, at times we showed some good things. We weren't very consistent. We missed opportunities, but I felt like we were growing.”
In the opener against Northwestern, Syracuse allowed the Wildcats to hold the ball for nearly 10 of the final 12.5 minutes of the game and never responded after an interception return for a touchdown late in the third quarter.
Quarterback Andrew Robinson had an off-day, unable to take much advantage against a defense that allowed 243 yards passing per game last fall. Robinson finished 14-for-28 for just 103 yards, a poor 3.7 yards per pass attempt. He was also called for intentional grounding in his own end zone that resulted in a safety and threw the interception, the decisive play of the game.
“We had too many mistakes,” said tailback Delone Carter, who gained 45 yards on six carries in a triumphant return after sitting out last season with a dislocated hip. “We can't start that again.”
What the Orange have started doing again is running the ball effectively. After averaging just 2 yards per carry in 2007, the worst mark in the nation, Syracuse gained 122 yards rushing against Northwestern, an average of just over 4 yards per carry. Look for the Orange to use tailbacks Carter, Curtis Brinkley and Doug Hogue a lot on Saturday because the Zips allowed 408 yards and four TDs rushing in their loss at Wisconsin.
“Their defense running-wise didn't play that well last week, that's obviously something we're going to look for, try to capitalize on,” Andrew Robinson said. “Our running game is a lot better than it's been the last four years, and I have to play better.”
The Orange felt they let one slip away last week after gaining a 10-9 lead over the Wildcats early in the third quarter.
“I was disappointed that we didn't win,” Jones said. “But I saw a lot of positives, a lot of flashes of good things. We got turnovers and we had a lot of three-and-outs. It was a big improvement from last season.”
On TV
• Akron at Syracuse, 3:30 p.m., TW-26
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joestheragman wrote on Sep 6, 2008 4:23 PM: