As Syracuse gained possession of the ball with 48 seconds remaining in Sunday’s season opener against West Virginia, fans continued to file out of the Carrier Dome. Down by eight points, many had no hope in the Orange offense and few turned to watch it sputter to a final halt.

Syracuse lost to the Mountaineers, 15-7, in Greg Robinson’s first game as Syracuse head coach. SU’s new West Coast Offense never gained momentum, generating only 103 total yards in front of 45,418, the Carrier Dome’s largest home opening crowd since 1999.

As time expired, boos rained down at the Carrier Dome, chastising quarterback Perry Patterson and an offense that scored only one touchdown off an 18-yard drive. It was an anticlimactic beginning to what many deemed the start of a new era in Syracuse football.

‘The place was wild, the fans were great,’ Robinson said. ‘It was everything we asked for, and we didn’t get it done. It starts with a rookie head coach and it looks like it. The game management was poor and that comes right from me.’

Syracuse (0-1, 0-1 Big East) was forced to punt on its first four possessions, earning only 35 yards offensively in the first quarter. The one touchdown SU scored came after the Orange gained possession of the ball on West Virginia’s 18-yardline.

Damien Rhodes rushed for 13 yards and then punched it in from five yards out with 14:07 remaining in the second quarter. Syracuse’s 7-0 lead lasted less than two minutes, though, when Patterson was intercepted on SU’s next possession by Mountaineer defensive back Eric Wicks.

Wicks returned the pick 32 yards to tie the game.

‘You start to get something going and then you lose momentum,’ Robinson said. ‘There’s got to be a harmony and right now there isn’t a harmony.’

Early on, SU’s offense was in typical West Coast form. Patterson threw only short passes and dumped the ball off to Rhodes on screens. After four completions to Rhodes for 20 yards in the first quarter, the Mountaineer defense began to key on him, though.

As Patterson struggled to find open receivers, his next three passes went to Rhodes for a net gain of minus-2 yards.

‘We gotta just adjust and get the football out of there,’ offensive coordinator Brian Pariani said. ‘(Patterson) was giving (Rhodes) the ball and if the back could make some people miss, that was part of the design.’

Patterson was not available to the media after the game.

Rhodes, SU’s foremost offensive threat, did not get a rest in the first half. He carried the ball nine times for 28 yards and caught six passes for 18 yards.

Patterson only completed three passes in the first half to players other than Rhodes – Rice Moss had two catches and Tim Lane had one. Starting wide receiver Landel Bembo did not play. He broke his leg Wednesday in practice and is out for the season.

‘We’ve got the ability to run the football,’ Robinson said. ‘I see open receivers, I see dropped balls. I see some bad throws, but I know what that offense has and they have the ability to run the football.’

Robinson mostly blamed himself for the loss and the lack of team discipline. On West Virginia’s third quarter scoring drive, an offsides penalty gave the Mountaineers (1-0, 1-0) another play to put themselves in field goal range.

Pat McAfee hit a 33-yard attempt, giving West Virginia a 10-7 lead. In total, the Orange’s six penalties cost it 45 yards.

‘We are not a chippy outfit,’ Robinson said. ‘We had penalties that shot ourselves in the foot. There were several things that took place on both sides of the ball early in the game where I thought we could really get rolling and then we just kept compounding problems.’

Offensively, Syracuse never solved its problems. Brendan Carney punted the ball 11 times in the game, one shy of the SU record. Patterson threw for 85 yards with two interceptions. He was also sacked three times.

‘We were really excited right from when Coach was hired,’ Carney said. ‘It’s hard to swallow, but we’re gonna bounce back. It’s the type of coaches and players we have.’

Published on September 5, 2005 at 12:00 pm