Good thing there were seven referees officiating Saturday’s Syracuse football game against Rutgers. Certainly, if there were fewer, there would have been some tired arms among the men in stripes.

Officials called 26 combined penalties for 208 yards. Syracuse was victimized the most, accounting for 15 penalties for 120 yards.

At halftime, referees threw more yellow flags (16) than Syracuse quarterback Perry Patterson threw passes (15).

‘The refs, I think they did a mediocre job, in my opinion,’ SU center Matt Tarullo said. ‘I can’t take anything away from Rutgers, they played a great game. But the refs took it out of our hands a couple times, and I don’t appreciate that. I just think they should just let us play. I’m not an official, but come on, let the guys play.’

Tarullo was called for a number of false start penalties, as well as a personal foul in the second quarter. It was uncharacteristic of the captain, who usually chastises sloppy play after games.

‘I had a couple penalties today, and I didn’t agree with them too much,’ Tarullo said. ‘I like the way they called some plays. But they called me for a personal foul, and it’s just not in my character to do that.’

 

Injuries kept many SU players out of its win over Rutgers on Saturday. Steve Gregory (bruised thigh), Kellen Pruitt (knee) and Tanard Jackson (chest) didn’t play for the Orange.

 

Jackson is expected to recover from the injuries he incurred in last week’s stabbing and play next week against Florida State.

Pruitt was on crutches on the SU sideline. Sophomore Luke Cain made his first career start in place of Pruitt at outside linebacker. Marcus Clayton started for Jackson at cornerback.

‘It hurts,’ SU head coach Paul Pasqualoni said. ‘When you’re missing two starters there’s no question that puts you back on your heels a little bit. There’s no question, it’s nice if you have all your players, and we didn’t have that today.’

 

Third-string quarterback Xzavier Gaines wasn’t on the Syracuse sideline Saturday. Director of Athletic Communications Sue Edson said she didn’t know where Gaines was.

 

On Wednesday, Gaines said he had ‘some personal issues’ to deal with and he was contemplating quitting the team.

‘There’s some things I need to figure out,’ he said. ‘There’s a lot of stuff going on. I just need some time off.’

 

Rutgers fullback Brian Leonard didn’t play Saturday because of a thigh injury. It surprised many on the SU sideline, considering Leonard is from Gouverneur, only two hours from the Carrier Dome.

 

‘That hurt them,’ Pasqualoni said. ‘I don’t know if it would have helped in the run game, but Brian is real effective catching the ball.’

‘I don’t think it’s just Leonard’s absence,’ RU head coach Greg Schiano said. ‘Leonard goes down, but Shawn Tucker didn’t even make the trip. And then Marcus Daniels goes down, so then Chris Baker is our only X. So all of a sudden, all that depth is gone.’

 

The game lasted four hours, the longest SU has played this season. … Brendan Carney’s 59-yard punt in the first quarter tied his season long. … Walter Reyes has scored at least one touchdown in 15 consecutive home games. … Defensive end James Wyche blocked a field goal in the second quarter. … A fight broke out in the lower level of the Carrier Dome stands. One man was escorted out by security.

Published on October 3, 2004 at 12:00 pm