LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Syracuse nation has been duped.

That’s the only way to explain what happened Saturday when precision passing, huge gains and a pressuring defense epitomized Syracuse’s football game.

Greg Robinson and his team has hustled us. And by the same token, Robinson made Louisville look completely foolish in the Orange’s 38-35 win to open the Big East season.

Syracuse followers around the country should breathe a collective sigh of relief. The Orange was simply playing a prank on us all.

Forget about the three straight losses by a total of 86 points to open the season. Disregard the defense that looked inept at all aspects of the game. Pack away any doubts that Andrew Robinson was not the SU quarterback of the future. It was all a ruse.

Last week, it looked like Syracuse should be dropped as a Division I program. Now – like magic – it appears this team has the weapons to hang with the toughest in the Big East. No more shutouts. No more embarrassments.

The head coach rightfully took the modest approach to the team’s abrupt upswing.

‘I didn’t have time to really be surprised,’ Robinson said Sunday at his day-after press conference. ‘I just wanted to keep it going. The only thing I did notice, though, was mid-third quarter, we weren’t taking advantage of some situations, and you have to make hay when the going is good.’

Yes, we understand the team still has a long way to go. But the blown opportunities represented the least of my surprises.

It seems the coach did know what he was talking about during the past month. Robinson was tweaking and scheming. And suddenly, the team’s potential was unleashed on the first Big East opponent of the season.

Out went the pistol offense, in favor of the big guns. Long bombs tore asunder the Louisville defense.

‘We were playing some teams that liked to play a lot of deep zone coverage,’ Andrew Robinson said. ‘And that’s what fans (do) not necessarily understand – you can try to force the ball in there, but the chances are it’s going to be intercepted if you force the ball against a team that plays a lot of deep zone coverages.’

Riiight, Andrew.

If Syracuse does not come out gunslinging for the rest of the season, that might be the biggest joke of all.

Robinson has the arms and the guts to stand in front of a shaky (but improving) offensive line and sling it down the field – deep zone coverage or not. The long pass has worked better than anything else for the Orange all year. And the receiving corps brings the talent to rack up the huge gain.

Syracuse, a team that had not recorded a first down in the first quarter of its last two games, skipped that technicality altogether Saturday. One play and the Orange held a 7-0 lead. Bravo.

Four more encores followed, with every touchdown tallying at least 10 yards, and all but one of those scores came on a play of more than 40 yards.

‘When Louisville made it 21-14 and we came back and responded, and the next time they scored and we came right back and responded – boy, that’s good stuff,’ Robinson said Sunday.

It’s also one hell of a stunt when a defense can give up 628 total yards – third most in school history – and pull out a win. But the defensive side also proved its worth by creating four turnovers, attaining eight tackles for losses and, for the most part, standing tall when a stop was necessary.

Nowhere near perfect. Nowhere near last week either, when the defense could stop nothing.

In spite of all the praise and excitement, one caveat exists. There remains the possibility Louisville is the team that had us all fooled.

How great can Syracuse’s offense be if Middle Tennessee State can put up 35 points on the Cardinals by halftime? Louisville’s other win came against Division I-AA Murray State.

If every offense starts looking like the Greatest Show on Turf against Louisville, it might be the Cardinals who have deceived us. That top 10 ranking to start the season was certainly a clever illusion.

Still, I have no reason to doubt Syracuse’s competitiveness in the Big East. The Orange has big play capabilities, and if Saturday is any indication, SU is not afraid to reach into its bag of tricks.

Don’t worry, Syracuse fans, if you feel a little foolish for doubting the Orange. I do. But it’s shown in the Cards – Syracuse has a bright future, and it’s closer than you think.

Matt Levin is an assistant feature editor at The Daily Orange, where his columns appear occasionally. He can be reached at mrlevin@syr.edu

Published on September 23, 2007 at 12:00 pm