September 09, 2006
falling just short
If there really such a thing as a moral victory, this game would be the absolute definition of the term. The Orangemen were expected to lose to Iowa by a minimum of two and a half touchdowns, but instead they surprised everyone and put up a top notch fight, forcing a Top-15 football team into double OT (the half-time analysts for ABC were especially upset, as they felt the need to constantly rip one of the best football programs in the history of the sport, save one or two recent bad seasons - the viewers don't care if you think SU is terrible. Stop talking smack about the teams you're supposed to cover objectively, Craig James, and go makeout with Kirk Herbstreit). I'm sure Coach Robinson is far from pleased with the result of the contest, but I would also assume that he's going to find some solace in the big picture: Syracuse finally hung with one of the best, and they stuck with it right up to the end.
Unfortunately, I don't believe in moral victories. I especially don't believe in any kind of victory when your team's loss is determined by the fact that they failed in SEVEN CONSECUTIVE TRIES to move the football from their opponent's two yard line. Talk about getting the fans' (and players) hopes up for the biggest win in almost four years, only to fall apart in fantastically pathetic fashion, crushing their hearts even further. Looking back on what just transpired, I almost would've preferred that two and a half touchdown thrashing that we all expected. Almost.
Iowa gave Syracuse several chances to win this game, and despite the best game-long efforts of Perry, Taj, Terrell Lemon, and Captain Carney, among others - the team just couldn't push through the Hawkeye D-Line for those final two yards. As soon as the first end zone pass interference call was made, I was convinced the Cuse would tie it up easily. What team can't score from the two with four chances to do it, right? Once, then twice, then again, and again... and again... and again... and again, the Orange couldn't get past those suddenly untamed Big Ten giants standing between them and that game-tying touchdown. It's a shame, too, because it would have been the perfect turning point moment in the young career of Coach Robinson.
Nothing against Tony Fiammetta - I realize he had a couple productive carries against Wake Forest - but where the heck was Curtis Brinkley during those last seven plays? What was stopping the coach from pulling the trigger and sending the team's obvious first stringer off tackle and into the end zone? Was it the fact that Brinkley's only averaged 5.1 yards per carry thus far (only minimally better than Paul Chiara's 1.8 ypc) and that he'd been struggling his way to a team-high 69 yards all game long? Give the ball to your horse when it matters, regardless of what the scale says in the morning. Brinkley deserved to have his hands on the ball in that situation - if only ONCE out of seven tries - and the coaching staff failed to give it to him.
Syracuse played the best game I've seen them put forth in a long time, going back to last year's last-second loss to Virginia. The secondary carried the entire team for four quarters, and Perry was efficient when it mattered most. Taj Smith showed flashes of what Robinson and White's offense will be once it's moving at full speed, and Curtis Brinkley proved himself to be more than capable of being the #1 back until Delone Carter comes around. The sad part is that I'd be happier if Iowa had the ball last in the second overtime instead of first. That way the score would've been a manageable 19-16, the Cuse could be a little prouder, and we wouldn't have to ponder those final seven snaps for the next seven days. Instead we're stuck with the usual routine - the losing streak continues and the fans have to wait 'til next time.
Perhaps Coach Robinson will get that second win - the first real win, if you ask most fans - against the Redhawks of Miami. It's certainly possible, considering the show we witnessed today, but it won't be nearly as sweet as it would've been to beat those Hawkeyes. The streak has to end sometime, right?
