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The Daily OrangeFB | Brinkley, Carter key sharp Syracuse running attack
By Andy McCullough and John Clayton
Posted: 9/8/08, 1:36 AM EST Section: Sports
For one game, at least, Syracuse's three-man running back rotation was trimmed to two.
Syracuse racked up 218 yards on the ground in Saturday's 42-28 loss to Akron, led by Curtis Brinkley and Delone Carter.
Doug Hogue started the game, but only gained nine yards on three carries. He sat after the first two offensive series and watched as his two teammates shone. Brinkley rushed for a career-high 143 yards and a touchdown, and Carter added 77 of his own.
"We pounded it," Carter said. "We got aggressive. We were able to get aggressive, getting into that rhythm that we got into."
Both are coming off cataclysmic injuries last season: a dislocated hip for Carter and a broken fibula for Brinkley.
Brinkley came in for Syracuse's third series and made the most of it. The senior slipped through holes and slipped past tacklers, averaging 6.8 yards a carry and keying both Syracuse scoring drives in the first half. He scored in the second quarter, vaulting over the pile at the goal line.
"It went beyond his effort," head coach Greg Robinson said. "His true talents really began to show."
Carter, playing against his hometown college, didn't get in until the third quarter. He snapped off a 27-yard-run on his third carry, shaking a man at the line of scrimmage and busting into the open field.
"To see him doing what he's doing," Robinson said, "he's persevered and fought through so much."
Brinkley and Carter were the hub of the Orange offense, as they played Hogue out of Saturday's rotation.
"Curt and Delone are the best tandem of backs in the Big East," said wide receiver Bruce Williams. "Nobody can doubt that."
That wasn't enough Saturday. And Carter was stuffed on a key fourth-and-one late in the fourth quarter, when the Orange had a chance to tie the game. But for a team mired with problems, at least the backs looked strong.
"The frustrating part is done," Carter said of the rotation. "It is what it is now."
Syracuse racked up 218 yards on the ground in Saturday's 42-28 loss to Akron, led by Curtis Brinkley and Delone Carter.
Doug Hogue started the game, but only gained nine yards on three carries. He sat after the first two offensive series and watched as his two teammates shone. Brinkley rushed for a career-high 143 yards and a touchdown, and Carter added 77 of his own.
"We pounded it," Carter said. "We got aggressive. We were able to get aggressive, getting into that rhythm that we got into."
Both are coming off cataclysmic injuries last season: a dislocated hip for Carter and a broken fibula for Brinkley.
Brinkley came in for Syracuse's third series and made the most of it. The senior slipped through holes and slipped past tacklers, averaging 6.8 yards a carry and keying both Syracuse scoring drives in the first half. He scored in the second quarter, vaulting over the pile at the goal line.
"It went beyond his effort," head coach Greg Robinson said. "His true talents really began to show."
Carter, playing against his hometown college, didn't get in until the third quarter. He snapped off a 27-yard-run on his third carry, shaking a man at the line of scrimmage and busting into the open field.
"To see him doing what he's doing," Robinson said, "he's persevered and fought through so much."
Brinkley and Carter were the hub of the Orange offense, as they played Hogue out of Saturday's rotation.
"Curt and Delone are the best tandem of backs in the Big East," said wide receiver Bruce Williams. "Nobody can doubt that."
That wasn't enough Saturday. And Carter was stuffed on a key fourth-and-one late in the fourth quarter, when the Orange had a chance to tie the game. But for a team mired with problems, at least the backs looked strong.
"The frustrating part is done," Carter said of the rotation. "It is what it is now."
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