The three first-time starting linebackers for Syracuse hoped their years of studying film and learning the system would pay off when they finally made their debut against Washington in the Carrier Dome on Friday.

Each member of the trio-Jake Flaherty, Ben Maljovec and Vincenzo Giruzzi-has spent at least two years practicing with the SU defense.

Yet while taking on Washington, the linebacking corps seemed unprepared for the speed of a regular season college football game.

‘In a game, it’s always going to be a lot faster,’ Maljovec said after the Huskies compiled 302 yards on the ground against a sluggish Syracuse defense.

UW running back Louis Rankin tallied 147 yards on 17 carries, and quarterback Jake Locker, in his first career start, sprinted for 83 yards on 10 carries.

Slow acceleration and neglected assignments by the Syracuse linebackers contributed to the Huskies running all over the Orange defense. Sloppy tackling especially hurt Syracuse on the play head coach Greg Robinson pinpointed as the one that shifted momentum in Washington’s favor.

Following two ineffective drives to start the game, Rankin took a sweep to the left on the team’s third possession, and it looked liked Maljovec had Rankin wrapped up for a loss. Instead, Rankin slipped away, dashed back to the right and picked up a 17-yard gain.

‘Sometimes those big plays can swing momentum,’ Maljovec said. ‘And I think that gave them some momentum to go with.’

All three linebackers acknowledged disappointment with their first-string debuts.

‘We made a couple good plays here and there,’ Flaherty said. ‘But as a whole…I know there were plays I should’ve made. I let the team down in that regard.’

Robinson said he had no regrets leaving the first-string linebackers in, even when the game got out of hand for the Orange. He added the starting linebackers have proven themselves to be far enough ahead of the backups on the depth chart that there appeared to be no purpose in giving the backups more experience.

‘I saw a couple of times we had issues with the linebackers,’ Robinson said. ‘There are 11 guys out there. There were other issues I saw, too.’

O-line woes continue

The extra year on their oversized belts did little to improve the blocking woes of the Syracuse’s offensive linemen.

The offensive line gave up seven sacks and provided no boost for the running game in the Orange’s 42-12 loss to Washington in the Carrier Dome on Friday. Many of this year’s linemen toiled in last year’s awful offensive line. Poor pass protection resulted in 45 sacks last year, fourth-worst in the country. In addition, Syracuse finished 110th in the nation in total offense.

The added experience did not pay off in the season opener. Constant pressure hounded SU’s passing game, forcing quarterback Andrew Robinson to scramble out of the pocket in multiple situations. On the ground, the Orange running backs found few holes to dart through. Syracuse rushed for eight yards total and for most of the game it appeared the runners would finish with negative yardage.

Nonetheless, SU center Marvin McCall didn’t see much to be disturbed about.

‘I think we did a pretty good job,’ McCall said of the offensive line. ‘We just had some communication problems from time to time, but overall we did a pretty good job blocking them.’

Robinson admitted a couple of sacks resulted from him holding onto the ball too long and trying to make a play instead of throwing the ball away. Still, he seemed to skirt around mentioning the word ‘offensive line’ when discussing what went wrong Friday.

The linemen did afford strong protection during the first drive. Robinson completed five of six passes in the opening possession, and the Orange took 3-0 lead on a Patrick Shadle field goal. In the ensuing possessions, though, it quickly turned into the same old story for the offensive line.

‘It was the little things that created some issues,’ SU head coach Greg Robinson said. ‘(They) all of sudden set you back and you lose momentum.’

Coach Robinson admitted during a press conference Sunday that in hindsight, he would’ve like to play some of the second-string linemen, who had competed all summer for a starting job, during the latter parts of Friday’s contest.

Statue unveiled

Sheathed beneath an orange veil, the statue of Ernie Davis was wheeled out to midfield at halftime. When the shroud was removed, the statue looked a bit naked-it had not yet been bronzed. Nevertheless, Davis, in his Syracuse pads and uniform, stood proud before the 40,000-plus fans that were in attendance Friday night.

Syracuse Director of Athletics Daryl Gross and Chancellor Nancy Cantor were part of the group that accompanied the memorial as it was brought to the center of the Carrier Dome. Davis, a Syracuse icon, remains SU’s lone Heisman Trophy winner, as well as the first African-American recipient of college football’s most prestigious award.

‘We just want to do these things to honor Ernie,’ Gross said. ‘We have an anonymous donor who put the money up. And it really means a lot to us.’

A location for the statue has not yet been determined. An announcement during the ceremony stated the memorial would be placed somewhere near the Carrier Dome.

This and that

Greg Robinson used wide receiver and sometimes-punter John Barker’s kicking skills to try to trap the Huskies deep in their own territory. Twice-and once on a third down-Barker lined up at receiver, ran behind Andrew Robinson, caught a pitch and pooch punted the ball…Freshman kick returner Max Suter returned the opening kick for 44 yards. He returned another kickoff 48 yards…Syracuse wore all-orange uniforms for the first time since 2004.

Published on September 3, 2007 at 12:00 pm