Damien Rhodes will not play at Pittsburgh on Saturday, the second week in a row the sophomore running back has missed a Syracuse football game.

Rhodes injured his left ankle two weeks ago at Virginia Tech. His left ankle had been hampered with an injury since the preseason, but a different injury occurred at Virginia Tech.

When Rhodes will return is unclear, head coach Paul Pasqualoni said.

‘We’ll re-evaluate (Rhodes) next week,’ Pasqualoni said.

Rhodes attended practice this week but is ‘very limited’ in what he does, Pasqualoni said.

Rhodes has played in four games this season, meaning he cannot redshirt. Once a player plays in more than one-quarter of his team’s game – in SU’s case, three – he can no longer redshirt.

In four games, Rhodes has rushed for 143 yards on 35 carries.

Doubting Dumas

Senior linebacker Jameel Dumas is ‘doubtful’ for Saturday’s game at Pitt, Pasqualoni said. Dumas hasn’t played since the fourth quarter of SU’s opener at North Carolina, when he injured his left knee.

Dumas returned to practice last week and continued practicing this week.

‘He looks good,’ middle linebacker Rich Scanlon said. ‘Unfortunately, he needed to have an operation, but he looks fine to me. He’s been staying in shape. We knew we were going to get him back. He’s been preparing since he got hurt.’

Kicker Collin Barber, who missed last Saturday’s game against Boston College with a fluke injury to his right quadriceps, is ‘hopeful’ for Pitt, Pasqualoni said.

Jewel thief

Diamond Ferri picked the perfect time to make his first career interception. Ferri, a native of Everett, Mass., a close suburb of Boston, picked off Quinton Porter on BC’s first drive last Saturday. Ferri played against several Eagles in high school, including running back Derrick Knight.

‘It’s a little sweeter,’ Ferri said. ‘It’s not something to put in their face. It’s just like, what? What? What? Say something.

‘It felt real good. I wish I could have scored. I thought I had it for a second, then everything just closed in.’

Ferri’s de facto lead blocker, Troy Swittenburg, was cleaned out by a BC offensive lineman, forcing Ferri out of bounds after gaining about 10 yards.

The brief return gave Ferri, a former running back, his first chance to carry the ball since his freshman year. Now a junior, he might have been a little rusty.

‘When I had it, I felt a little bit uncomfortable with it,’ Ferri said. ‘I didn’t have much room, and the blocking compared to offense isn’t set up how it’s supposed to be set up. It was just an instinct thing.’

Bad memories

Just when tight end Joe Donnelly had dispatched the memory of how bad Pittsburgh’s 48-28 thumping of the Orangemen on SU’s homecoming was last year, he watched the game film.

There it was: In the middle of the third quarter, the scoreboard read Pitt 40, Syracuse 3.

‘It’s unbelievable to see something like that, that’s not who we are,’ Donnelly said. ‘Especially not this year.’

Indeed, last season’s game against the Panthers typified Syracuse’s season. Dreadful secondary play. Too many turnovers. An embarrassing loss that ran SU’s record to 1-4.

Worse, it came on SU’s homecoming, and it was the Orangemen’s first loss to Pitt in 11 games.

The good news? It’s a new year, and last year’s shame can serve as motivation Saturday.

‘You always want to beat a team that beat you last year,’ fullback Thump Belton said. ‘Obviously, they beat us pretty bad. There’s a little motivation there.’

Said Donnelly: ‘They embarrassed us last year in our home. For every one of the seniors, we haven’t forgotten about it. That loss, more than anything, sticks with me. For this group of seniors, we’re not trying to go out with that bad taste in our mouth, especially against Pittsburgh.’

This and that

P.J. Alexander, a former SU offensive lineman who graduated in 2001, was signed by the NFL’s Denver Broncos from the New Orleans Saints’ practice squad. … Syracuse received one vote in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 poll, tying it with Washington as the No. 39 team in the nation. … William Evers, a former Atlanta Falcon and the father of SU freshman punt returner Marcus Clayton, saw Clayton play for the first time Saturday. ‘I was happy that he made it,’ Clayton said. ‘I hadn’t seen him since I left.’

Published on October 22, 2003 at 12:00 pm