Let’s face it. After Purdue thrashed the Syracuse football team, 51-0, in its Sept. 5 season opener, virtually no one outside the Orange locker room figured SU would win many games this season.

Sure, maybe the Orange would sneak out wins over Buffalo and Temple – which have a combined 2-10 record this season – but few figured the Orange would have a chance at beating anyone else.

Well, somehow SU recovered from the Boilermakers’ mauling and sit at 3-3 halfway through the season. Considering Syracuse has had the misfortune of playing three top 10 opponents, suddenly 3-3 sounds pretty darn good.

With the Big East – minus West Virginia and Boston College – in shambles, suddenly a 3-2 finish and a bowl game doesn’t sound far off.

But before Orange fans start packing their bags for a late-December retreat, let’s take a look at how Syracuse has stacked up halfway through its season.

Considering just a few weeks ago this position was SU’s biggest question mark, the Orange has to be quite satisfied. In the first two weeks, the swapping of Perry Patterson and Joe Fields looked to hold the Orange back.

Now, Patterson has grabbed a clear hold over the position and played his best game of the season against Florida State. Most importantly, his teammates believe they can win behind him.

‘Perry has stepped to the plate,’ head coach Paul Pasqualoni said. ‘In high pressure games, he’s done well.’

Still, Patterson looks like a first-year starter at times. He can be indecisive in the pocket and often stays in it too long. Give him a couple years and he’ll be special; for now, he’s good enough to get by.

Grade: B-

If any hype surrounded SU in the preseason, it was about Walter Reyes. He hasn’t even come close to living up to it. He’s looked good in two games – against Cincinnati and Rutgers – but, otherwise, he’s failed to instill fear in defenses.

A pleasant surprise has been the re-emergence of Damien Rhodes. With Reyes struggling, Rhodes has provided both a running and receiving threat.

Both should enjoy some more success against low-caliber defenses in the next few weeks.
Grade: C+

SU has gotten what was expected out of this group – not much production. The Orange averages just less than 147 receiving yards a game, and a major reason has been the receivers.

Of SU’s three touchdown passes, one has been to a receiver. Only Jared Jones has emerged as a reliable threat. Andre Fontenette has been solid at times, and Landel Bembo has failed to cash in on his opportunities to start with Steve Gregory injured.

The Gregory injury has been a major problem, considering he was supposed to be the Orange’s main deep threat.

Grade: C

Not much to say here. The Orange hoped Joe Kowalewski could replace Joe Donnelly and Lenny Cusumano.

Kowalewski hasn’t had to replace much because last year’s tight end duo combined for just 11 catches. Kowalewski already has eight.

Grade: B

Overall, another disappointment. Two of the starters are seniors and three are juniors. It’s a veteran group that was supposed to lead the way for Reyes and protect an inexperienced quarterback.

The protection has been average, as the line has allowed 12 sacks. When Reyes and Rhodes have been good, the holes they’ve run through have been huge. When they haven’t been so good, like SU’s combined 20 yards rushing against Florida State, the holes have been nonexistent.

Basically, the line needs to be more consistent.
Grade: B-

Much like the offensive line, the defensive line has had its good moments – and then some very bad moments. Take the Florida State game, for example. After allowing 76 rushing yards in the first half, it looked like a different unit after halftime when the Seminoles picked apart SU for 182 yards on the ground.

Rushing the quarterback has been another problem. Five sacks in six games? Yikes. James Wyche has been a major positive, contributing 2.5 of those sacks.

At times, the line has gotten pressure on the quarterback and missed a sack by milliseconds. Unfortunately, milliseconds cost defenses yards.

Grade: C+

Middle linebacker was another huge preseason question mark for SU. Jerry Mackey has made sure the Orange hasn’t missed a beat without last season’s leading tackler, Rich Scanlon.

‘Of all the positions, middle linebacker might take the longest to learn how to play,’ Pasqualoni said. ‘I’m very happy with his progress.’

As expected, Kelvin Smith and Kellen Pruitt have been solid on the outside, but Syracuse has missed Pruitt the last two weeks with a leg injury. This group is the anchor of the defense.

Grade: A-

Minus the defensive backfield performances against Purdue and Rutgers, the unit has been solid. We’ll excuse the Rutgers game because Tanard Jackson didn’t play.

The safeties, Anthony Smith and Diamond Ferri, are two of the most exciting players on the team to watch. Both can change the game on defense or special teams. Ferri is becoming the type of player that offenses throw away from.

Jackson has emerged as a solid cover corner, but on the opposite side, DeAndre LaCaille is still a bit of a question.

Grade: B

Back under the command of special teams guru Chris Rippon, this unit has emerged as the strongest group on the team.

Smith has three blocked kicks, it’s a matter of time before teams start kicking away from Ferri and punter Brendan Carney is averaging 43.5 yards per kick.

Kicker Collin Barber had been reliable until his 1-of-3 performance against FSU.

Grade: A-

Fair or not, it’s no secret that Pasqualoni is coaching for his job this season. It’s unknown exactly how many games he must win, but even a 6-5 season and a bowl game may not be good enough.

With that said, Pasqualoni’s done a solid job considering the circumstances. Purdue embarrassed his team, but the Orange responded with wins the next two weeks. Not only that, Syracuse has shown improvement against each top 10 team it’s faced.

Somehow, with questionable talent, Pasqualoni’s gotten by. That shouldn’t be looked past.

Grade: B

Team GPA: 2.86 (B)

Published on October 13, 2004 at 12:00 pm