Carrier Dome fans booed in disgust. R.J. Anderson flipped his helmet in frustration. And the West Virginia football team effectively finished a game in delight.

Mountaineer receiver Chris Henry had just burned a duo of Syracuse defensive backs for the second time in four minutes. After a game filled with missed opportunities for SU, Henry’s pair of scores led No. 25 West Virginia to a 34-23 victory over Syracuse on Saturday before 41,801.

The loss was SU’s second straight, marking the first time this season the Orangemen have dropped back-to-back games. It was also the second straight weekend SU failed to win and become bowl eligible by notching its sixth victory.

The loss to WVU (7-4, 5-1 Big East), though, might hurt more than SU’s defeat last weekend against Miami. The Orangemen (5-5, 2-4) entered halftime tied at 17, and in the second half they squandered momentum as quickly as they seized it.

‘I’d feel a lot better if they had kicked the crap out of us and they were that much better than us,’ SU running backs coach David Walker said. ‘I’d feel better. I don’t know if West Virginia won it, but we sure as hell lost it.’

Especially in the secondary. After three weeks of solid improvement – culminating with last week’s 80 yards allowed at Miami – SU’s secondary surrendered 271 passing yards and three touchdowns to WVU quarterback Rasheed Marshall.

‘Just when you think you’re making strides, you have a game like this,’ cornerbacks coach Todd Littlejohn said. ‘You have a receiver who has a big day. It’s so frustrating. I have to look at what I’m doing in terms of coaching.’

Henry, a slender sophomore with track-star speed, ate up 209 of those yards with six catches. His two touchdows – fourth-quarter receptions of 24 and then 67 yards – came on third down.

The second damaged Syracuse most. On third-and-two from the Syracuse 32-yard line, Henry streaked by cornerback Thomas Whitfield. When Diamond Ferri rotated to cover Henry, he, too, was left in a cloud of Henry’s dust. Marshall hit Henry in stride, and West Virginia took a 34-23 with 5:02 left.

The play would have left the Dome crowd with dj vu had a different set of SU defensive backs not been roasted by Henry four minutes earlier. With West Virginia clinging to a 20-17 lead and pinned at its 18-yard line, Troy Swittenburg and Anthony Smith double-team Henry.

Problem was, neither made a play when Marshall lofted a perfect pass 42 yards. Five plays later, Henry finished off the drive by catching a 24-yard fade on third-and-three.

‘Guys not making plays,’ Littlejohn said. ‘That’s really the bottom line. In position and not making plays. That really happened all throughout the game.’

SU’s cornerbacks, though, weren’t solely to blame. After SU drove 80 yards in 4:19, Collin Barber hooked a 29-yard field goal that would have tied the game at 20. After Walter Reyes carried a screen pass 67 yards for a touchdown, Barber missed the ensuing extra point.

‘Those are things you gotta be able to do,’ SU head coach Paul Pasqualoni said. ‘You gotta be able to convert when you have opportunities. You’ve got to be able to cash in the opportunities.’

All game, Syracuse failed to capitalize on momentum. Three plays after Reyes’ score – on which he received stellar blocks from Joe Donnelly and Johnnie Morant – Henry scored his 67-yard touchdown. Moments after exalting, the SU sideline was stunned.

‘When Walt had that long touchdown catch,’ Anderson said, ‘I thought we were back in it.’

Instead, Henry ended SU’s comeback hopes. Afterward, the frustration bubbled over on SU’s sideline.

With 1:24 left in the game and SU’s last-ditch drive about to fizzle inside WVU’s 10-yard line, Whitfield, visibly enraged, charged down SU’s sideline with his helmet off. He had to be restrained by cornerback Steve Gregory and calmed by Anthony Smith and Rich Scanlon.

‘Everybody wants to win,’ Littlejohn said. ‘It puts guys in different situations. It’s a family atmosphere, and there are times that you get on each other as siblings. I’m sure that’s just what it was.’

After the loss, Syracuse needs to win its last to games, at Rutgers and in the Dome against Notre Dame, to ensure a trip to a bowl. Boston College’s 34-27 defeat of Virginia Tech clouded the Big East bowl picture, so a split will make SU’s bowl hopes tenuous.

Of course, had they capitalized on their chances against WVU, the Orangemen would be sure to extend their season to the holidays.

‘Everybody’s just sad right now,’ SU punt returner Marcus Clayton said. ‘We know we should have won.’

Published on November 21, 2003 at 12:00 pm