SYRACUSE - He's lost 20 scholarship players and five others to season-ending injuries. Yet Syracuse coach Doug Marrone remains steadfast as the Orange face daunting odds in the final three games of the season.
“Our goal is still ahead of us,” Marrone said Monday. “We can still win six games. It starts off with concentrating on Louisville. That's where our character has to come out.
“That's what I challenged the team,” he said. “The team that practices well, the team that executes well, the team that has the right mental attitude will probably win this game on Saturday.”
It is true that Syracuse (3-6, 0-4 Big East) still has a chance to achieve six victories, which would make the Orange eligible to play in a bowl game. But the depleted roster is making that task ever more difficult.
Mike Williams quit the team a week ago in the midst of a season that seemed destined to be a record-breaker for the senior wideout. Almost in the same breath, Marrone added that he had suspended tailback Antwon Bailey, defensive end Torrey Ball and offensive guard Andrew Tiller for violating team rules.
Marrone announced later Monday that he had reinstated Ball, Bailey and Tiller, who were involved in a minor traffic accident on the New York State Thruway just before dawn a week ago. Williams also was a passenger in the car.
Syracuse brought only 55 players on the road for Saturday's game at Pittsburgh and during the game lost starting safety Max Suter and tight end Cody Catalina to season-ending injuries.
Syracuse played Pitt (8-1, 5-0) to a standstill through most of the first half and trailed 6-3 until Greg Williams intercepted a tipped pass and returned it 51 yards for a touchdown with 80 seconds left before intermission.
Pitt scored on the first possession of the second half and pulled away for a 37-10 victory, the most lopsided loss of Marrone's rookie season. The victory vaulted the Panthers six spots to No. 8 in the AP Top 25.
“I get a sense of how our kids stand up to that challenge of teams that we haven't beaten in a long time and still haven't,” said Marrone, whose Orange have lost to five ranked teams. “I know this, the people out there playing are playing hard. Now, does it equal wins? Are we happy with that? No. Are we striving for that? Yes.”
Greg Paulus remains the starter at quarterback but continues to be plagued by interceptions.
Two of his 13 interceptions have been tipped at the line and two others have been intercepted by defensive linemen. South Florida's Jason Pierre-Paul ran back one for a critical touchdown in a 34-20 victory last month.
Marrone assumed some of the blame in attributing the problem to the offensive line and said both Paulus and backup Ryan Nassib needed to do a better job, too. Nassib threw his first career interception against Pitt.
“I have to school the offensive line to be (in) more of an attacking mode. The quarterbacks need to find the windows better, and we need to do a better job engaging,” Marrone said. “That will help us with the tipped-ball situation.”
“That's what I challenged the team,” he said. “The team that practices well, the team that executes well, the team that has the right mental attitude will probably win this game on Saturday.”
It is true that Syracuse (3-6, 0-4 Big East) still has a chance to achieve six victories, which would make the Orange eligible to play in a bowl game. But the depleted roster is making that task ever more difficult.
Mike Williams quit the team a week ago in the midst of a season that seemed destined to be a record-breaker for the senior wideout. Almost in the same breath, Marrone added that he had suspended tailback Antwon Bailey, defensive end Torrey Ball and offensive guard Andrew Tiller for violating team rules.
Marrone announced later Monday that he had reinstated Ball, Bailey and Tiller, who were involved in a minor traffic accident on the New York State Thruway just before dawn a week ago. Williams also was a passenger in the car.
Syracuse brought only 55 players on the road for Saturday's game at Pittsburgh and during the game lost starting safety Max Suter and tight end Cody Catalina to season-ending injuries.
Syracuse played Pitt (8-1, 5-0) to a standstill through most of the first half and trailed 6-3 until Greg Williams intercepted a tipped pass and returned it 51 yards for a touchdown with 80 seconds left before intermission.
Pitt scored on the first possession of the second half and pulled away for a 37-10 victory, the most lopsided loss of Marrone's rookie season. The victory vaulted the Panthers six spots to No. 8 in the AP Top 25.
“I get a sense of how our kids stand up to that challenge of teams that we haven't beaten in a long time and still haven't,” said Marrone, whose Orange have lost to five ranked teams. “I know this, the people out there playing are playing hard. Now, does it equal wins? Are we happy with that? No. Are we striving for that? Yes.”
Greg Paulus remains the starter at quarterback but continues to be plagued by interceptions.
Two of his 13 interceptions have been tipped at the line and two others have been intercepted by defensive linemen. South Florida's Jason Pierre-Paul ran back one for a critical touchdown in a 34-20 victory last month.
Marrone assumed some of the blame in attributing the problem to the offensive line and said both Paulus and backup Ryan Nassib needed to do a better job, too. Nassib threw his first career interception against Pitt.
“I have to school the offensive line to be (in) more of an attacking mode. The quarterbacks need to find the windows better, and we need to do a better job engaging,” Marrone said. “That will help us with the tipped-ball situation.”
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