TAMPA, Fla. — Jeremi Wilkes was the last to run off the field. Pumping both hands in the air after the Syracuse defense’s final stop, he considered the personal magnitude of the moment. Wilkes grew up about eight miles away from Raymond James Stadium.

‘Oh, man,’ Wilkes said of running off the field following that last stop. ‘It’s a great emotion. Growing up, I used to live right down the street. … It’s big to come out here, and my family has been supporting me ever since I was a kid, so it was huge.’

With an interception in front of where his parents were sitting, Wilkes symbolized the hometown hero. With that pick and three more tackles, he symbolized the defense’s dominance throughout the day. And both of those elements combined to symbolize the potential inroads Syracuse has made in Florida recruiting with its 13-9 victory over South Florida.

Personally, Wilkes made one of the game’s most prominent plays with a third-quarter interception of B.J. Daniels. On a USF third down, Wilkes picked off Daniels’ pass and returned it 24 yards to the SU 37-yard line.

‘It was great,’ Wilkes said. ‘Having a big pick right in front of my parents, it was definitely big. I was just happy that I got an opportunity to get out there and do that.’

Wilkes is also one of 12 members of the Orange who hails from the state of Florida. In the week leading up to the matchup, SU head coach Doug Marrone talked about how important a win could be to make even more of a splash recruiting in the state.

And after the game, with a win, Marrone was excited at the show the Orange put on for recruits at the stadium.

‘You go out, you open up on the road in the Big East, and you beat a team that you’ve never really come close to beating in the previous five years,’ Marrone said. ‘It’s a recruiting area for us. All those things help us. They help us get closer to our goal, realizing we haven’t achieved that yet.’

The other side

Sam Barrington put it bluntly. When asked about Syracuse’s 98-yard scoring drive and what USF could do to improve on the defensive side of the ball, it was all too simple.

‘Just overall, a better defense,’ said Barrington, a sophomore linebacker for USF. ‘Hold them to zero. That’s the only thing I would change. Hold them to zero.’

On the other side that contrasted SU’s raucous, jubilant locker room was the Bulls’ sullen collective mood after giving away a game they thought they should have won. Now USF has a short turnaround as it prepares to face West Virginia on Thursday.

For USF defensive end Craig Marshall, the 98-yard drive stung. Much more so because he was a part of the methodical tearing apart of the Bulls’ defense by Ryan Nassib and the rest of the SU offense.

‘You aren’t letting anybody drive on you, whether its 50 yards, 20 yards, whatever drive it is,’ Marshall said. ‘The ones where they drive the length of the field are the ones that hurt. You practice this every day, day in and day out, and for them to be able to do that is demoralizing for the defense. We have to go back and try and correct it.’

This and that

SU running back Delone Carter moved into ninth on the all-time career Syracuse rushing list, passing the legendary Ernie Davis on Saturday. He finished the day with 26 carries for 105 yards. … Saturday’s win was Syracuse’s first win in a Big East opener since 2007. … The Orange’s four sacks tied a season high. … Kicker Ross Krautman continued his solid season performance thus far, going 2-for-2 from 31 and 41 yards, respectively. He’s now 6-of-7 on the season. … When senior defensive tackle Anthony Perkins blocked an extra-point attempt in the third quarter, it marked the first time since 2007 Syracuse blocked a PAT.

bplogiur@syr.edu

 

Published on October 10, 2010 at 12:00 pm