SYRACUSE - Before the season started, Syracuse coach Greg Robinson said he thought his defense would be good - he just didn't know when. The Orange aren't there yet, but there are signs he might have been right.

On Saturday, Syracuse held West Virginia to just 268 yards offensively - nearly 100 yards below the Mountaineers average - and still lost 17-6. But 92 of those yards came on Noel Devine's decisive touchdown run with under 5 minutes left in the fourth quarter, which bodes well for the remainder of the season.

“I think we're definitely improved,” Robinson said Monday during the weekly Big East teleconference. “I just think it's a consistency thing right now. I think we have a chance to continue to get better because there are a number of young players. When you have young players, the more that they work on the practice field and the more that they play, the better they get.”

Robinson, in his fourth year at the helm, was defensive coordinator two years ago when the Orange improved to 4-8 after going 1-10 in his first season and appeared to be on the long, slow trek up from among the bottom feeders in college football's top division. After a disheartening one-year hiatus - Syracuse was 2-10 in 2007 - Robinson is again assisting the defense, and Saturday's performance was heartening, despite the fact his overall conference record dropped to 2-22.

“It's kind of what I've been saying,” Robinson said. “This team has the makings to become a good football team. They're growing and becoming a good defense.”

It doesn't exactly show on paper. Syracuse (1-5, 0-2 Big East) has allowed 208 yards rushing and 430 yards offensively per game, and the Orange defense has allowed an average of 23 first downs a game (109th nationally). Opponents also have converted 58 percent of their third downs.

It was much different on Saturday. West Virginia was 4-for-12 on third down, registered just 13 first downs, had five three-and-outs, and punted seven times. The Mountaineers also held the ball for only 24:44, giving the Orange a big advantage of over 10 minutes in time of possession, and suffered two sacks.

If not for Devine's heroics, Syracuse might have won.

“We think in a lot of ways we could have won that game,” Robinson said. “You can see clearly how we could've won that game. I felt the same way in a lot of cases in the way that I looked at the Pitt game, but maybe moreso in this one. We really felt like we were in the position to win.”

The Orange didn't have to deal with West Virginia starting quarterback Pat White - he sat out with an injury - and that certainly helped. Two years ago, White ran for a career-high 247 yards and four touchdowns in a 41-17 win over the Orange.

The defensive performance against the Mountaineers was a marked improvement from Syracuse's Big East opener two weeks ago against Pittsburgh in the Carrier Dome. The Panthers ran 75 plays, had 23 first downs and gained 407 yards (241 rushing), converted 11 of 18 third downs, held the ball for more than 38 minutes, didn't allow a sack, scored all four times they drove inside the Orange 20, and punted only twice in a comeback 34-24 victory.

“I commend the effort,” Robinson said as he began preparing for another test - a road game against No. 19 South Florida (5-1, 0-1) on Saturday. “There are things that lead you to believe the team is getting better against good football teams, getting very close to winning.”

Notes: Halfway through the season, senior tailback Curtis Brinkley has 621 yards rushing on 112 carries, 5.5 yards per carry, and is averaging 103.5 yards per game, 19th nationally. ... The Orange offense is averaging 154.2 yards rushing per game, 56th nationally and nearly triple its output in 2007.