SYRACUSE - Greg Robinson couldn't have asked for a better parting shot.

Six days after Robinson was fired as head coach at Syracuse, effective at the end of the season, his Orange beat Notre Dame by a point Saturday with the famed Golden Dome gleaming in the early evening sky.

Syracuse, which had scored only two fourth-quarter touchdowns all season, had two against the Irish in a stunning 24-23 triumph. It marked the first time the Orange had rallied from a double-digit deficit for a victory since coming back from 17 down to beat North Carolina in 2003.

“It was a great win for us,” Robinson said Monday on the weekly Big East teleconference. “The defense was put in a number of tough situations, and I thought that they responded well. What made it really good was we had to come from behind. It was good to see. It was timely. I was happy for our team, especially for the seniors. It's a feather in their cap.”

The win allowed Syracuse (3-8, 1-5 Big East) to avert a third 10-loss season in four years under Robinson, whose record stands at 10-36 overall and 3-24 in the conference.

Robinson said he was abiding by the 24-hour rule that most coaches have after games and already preparing for the season finale on Saturday at No. 16 Cincinnati (9-2, 5-1).

“I've already started to watch the film on Cincinnati, so it's begun to wear off,” Robinson said. “That's just kind of how it works for a coach. At the same time, I think it's more of a sense of accomplishment that permeates throughout the team right now.”

Especially for junior nose tackle Arthur Jones, who made an astounding 15 tackles in leading a defense that limited Notre Dame to just 41 yards rushing on 28 attempts, a 1.5-yard average per carry.

“He really wreaked havoc,” Robinson said. “It was a dominant performance. They didn't do as much to try to tie him up, and he took advantage of that.”

It was the most stops by a Big East down lineman this season and earned the 6-foor-4, 291-pound Jones defensive player of the week honors in the conference. Jones has 54 tackles, including 13 for a loss of yards and 3.5 sacks on the season. The performance upped his career total to 31.5 tackles for a loss, sixth in school history.

The school record is 50.5, set by Dwight Freeney (1998-01), now a star with the Indianapolis Colts.

Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly has noticed.

“I remember him from last year. You can't single block him,” said Kelly, whose Bearcats held off Pitt 28-21 on Saturday. “With the combination of size and speed, he's going to make a lot of plays, no matter whether you're in the Big East or the SEC. He's that caliber of a player. He's going to play on Sunday (in the NFL).”

Although Syracuse has struggled mightily during Robinson's tenure, the Orange have rallied to split their past four games after managing only one win - 30-21 over Northeastern - in the first seven.

“In a lot of spots, we're young,” Robinson said. “It takes time with young players to kind of get adjusted and get comfortable in what they're doing. Just starting with our secondary, we had really nobody coming back. We had a lot of very young players, and it takes time to develop.

“I think we are improving,” Robinson said. “Both sides of the ball (against Notre Dame) really had moments where they played very, very well.”

Kelly has noted that, too, with his Bearcats just a win away from capturing the Big East's automatic bid to the Bowl Championship Series.

“This Syracuse team is definitely a different team from what it was earlier in the year,” Kelly said. “They've got some confidence. It's going to be a great challenge for our football team. They need to finish this off.”

Notes: Syracuse senior Curtis Brinkley had 44 yards rushing against Notre Dame to move within 19 yards of Jim Brown on the school's all-time rushing list. Brown, who played from 1954-56, had 2,091 yards and ranks 15th. Brinkley, who has six 100-yard games this season, has one game left to tie Brown's mark of seven in a season.