Perry Patterson’s only gaffe happened when it really mattered. Despite playing an almost flawless game, his interception in the end zone with five seconds remaining sealed the fate of the Syracuse football team: a 17-13 loss in big, bold letters on the Carrier Dome scoreboard.

It was an unfitting end to a game in which he dominated and showed flashes of brilliance.

Perry Patterson was 30 yards from being the hero and leading the Syracuse football team to a shocking victory over Florida State. Instead, Patterson’s pass to Damien Rhodes with 13 seconds left fell short in the end zone and was intercepted by Sam McGrew, ruining Patterson’s career day.

‘I think when the ball is released,’ SU head coach Paul Pasqualoni said, ‘you always have hope. It’s like the Virginia Tech game a few years back. The ball is in the air and you hope the guy in the orange helmet is going to come down with it.’

He didn’t. And while it doesn’t negate Patterson’s 19-for-28, 207-yard performance, it certainly doesn’t make it feel any better.

But the SU coaches were pleased with Patterson, who, in just his third career start, has already made Joe Fields an afterthought.

‘He’s getting more and more comfortable the longer he’s been playing,’ quarterbacks coach Steve Bush said. ‘This is his first year starting, and he’s gotten better every game.’

But his end-game decisions reminded everyone that he’s still young. Bush said that SU’s last drive was Patterson’s first two-minute drill in a game situation. SU’s drive started on its own 21-yard line and Syracuse had only one timeout. With a chance to upset the No. 8 team in the country, Patterson was thrust into a situation that even most seniors haven’t faced.

Credit Patterson – he was only 30 yards and a little extra oomph short on his last throw from pulling out the victory.

‘He gave us a shot,’ Bush said.

And he almost delivered.

‘We kept attacking,’ Patterson said. ‘We knew that we were going right at them and that they were going to break down. But in a game like this, you need to capitalize on everything. The margin of error is real small. We just have to come back and learn from it.’

You get the feeling he already has. After the game, Patterson spoke with the humility of someone who had just suffered a tough defeat, not one who gloated in a moral victory. Patterson expected to pull out the win, not just put up a fight.

‘He was very disappointed,’ Bush said of Patterson’s locker room demeanor. ‘The whole team is. (Patterson’s) a competitor. He battled. We fought until the end and it’s frustrating to come up on the short end.’

During the first half, Patterson looked as close to flawless as possible. He completed 10 of 12 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown. Patterson showed the poise of a pocket passer – nailing open receivers with accuracy – and the maneuverability of a scrambler, sidestepping pressure from the quick Florida State defensive ends.

He faltered in the second half. Patterson threw for only 62 yards in the second half and only 21 in the third quarter. But when it really mattered, Patterson put that behind him. He almost led SU to victory. With one pass, he led the Orange to defeat.

But you get the feeling he’ll get another shot.

‘The more experience you get, the more confidence you get,’ SU wide receiver Andre Fontenette said. ‘I think Perry’s going to do just fine in the coming years. You’ll see.’

Published on October 11, 2004 at 12:00 pm