The Daily Orange

Media Credit: Will Halsey [Click to enlarge]

When Greg Robinson marched up and down his sideline rallying his troops in the third quarter, most fans had already left.

Enough had been seen, and the ending had all but been written.

Another loss by Syracuse? Well, say something they don't know. Faith walked out the Carrier Dome doors long before the game's final whistle.

So it was to an empty stadium the Orange put forth its last empty rally - a seven-play drive that ended on the Rutgers 31-yard line. Less than two minutes later, Ray Rice's third touchdown squeezed away SU's last life, and with it canceled the notion that Rutgers is the one-hit wonder, Syracuse the time-tested classic.

Unlike against West Virginia, Syracuse had a lead. Unlike Miami (Ohio), Syracuse had looked productive.

But similar to its five other losses on the season, the positive feelings were short lived and ultimately erased by the performance of a foe.

Syracuse lost its third game in a row, this one to rival Rutgers, 38-14, in front of 36, 226 impatient and increasingly frustrated SU fans. They witnessed an Orange offense that peaked early in the first quarter and couldn't recover from a momentum-changing blocked punt in the second quarter, eventually yielding 38 unanswered points.

Syracuse head coach Greg Robinson, who told ESPN broadcasters before the game that "(Rutgers) is a one-year wonder," was humbled to a hush in his postgame press conference as his eyes reddened and his voice cracked.

"That wasn't the way it was planned," he said. "When I'm out there on that field, I begin to say to myself, 'Now, wait a minute. Is this coaches' fault, or players, or what is it?' And I don't have the answers right now."

On the game's opening drive, SU linebacker Ben Maljovec intercepted quarterback Mike Teel and returned it 52 yards down to the Rutgers 21-yard line. Syracuse capitalized with a touchdown pass to Williams, his fifth of the season. The Orange added another score on its next drive - on a 15-yard run by Brinkley - and all seemed to be going right in Central New York.

But for the second week in a row, the game hinged on the unexpected - this time, the blocked punt by McCourty in the second quarter. Last week against West Virginia, the turning point of SU's loss also came in the second quarter on an interception return for a touchdown by WVU defensive tackle Keilen Dykes.

Rutgers used the momentum swing to run up a 24-14 lead at halftime, held that way by a costly fumble near the redzone by SU quarterback Andrew Robinson and a missed field goal attempt by Rutgers kicker Jeremy Ito at the end of the half.

Syracuse was not without chances to make a game out of the second half. Near the end of the third quarter, after a successful defensive stop, SU needed one strong drive to keep its head above the quicksand.

But after a 19-yard rush by running back Curtis Brinkley provided a flicker of hope, Syracuse sputtered to a failed fourth-down conversion on the Rutgers 31-yard line.

Rice scored his third touchdown less than two minutes later, and Rutgers had its victory.

"That was a very crucial drive, too," Brinkley said. "We needed that drive. But we didn't do it."

With pregame hype surrounding Rutgers' Heisman Trophy candidate running back Rice - centering mostly on Rice's own de-commitment from Syracuse in 2005 - the Scarlet Knights' quarterback Mike Teel dominated in the first half. He finished with 310 yards (245 in the first half) and two touchdowns, his only low point coming on his opening pass of the game.

Rice ended up with 196 yards in the game, though most came in the second half when the game was already decided.

"He's definitely as advertised," SU safety Joe Fields said of Rice. "He's a big, strong, physical back, and he runs with a low center of gravity. It's tough to keep matching that over and over again."

Syracuse also was finally able to run the ball effectively, as Brinkley finished with a season-high 98 yards. But pass protection for quarterback Andrew Robinson was discouraging, and SU couldn't find a receiver in rhythm beyond tight end Jawad Nesheiwat, who finished with 81 yards receiving.

In the end, the positive feeling of getting off to such a hot start had vanished completely. In its wake, anger and frustration and a lot of self-reflection, particularly from the head coach.

"I'm disappointed about what transpired today," Greg Robinson said. "I thought we put ourselves in position to win the football game early in the game. And we found ways to let it get away. And then didn't find ways to get back into it."

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