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The Daily OrangeFB | McCullough: Syracuse's failures epitomized by 3-play stretch vs. Penn State
By Andy McCullough
Posted: 9/15/08, 12:22 AM EST Section: Sports
Three plays. A portrait of Syracuse football in three plays: A turnover, a turnover and a touchdown, all in a row, all in the first quarter against Penn State Saturday.
There were plenty other plays during the Nittany Lions' 55-13 annihilation of the Orange, but those three, in a way, say a lot about this Syracuse team. They are symbols of its suffering.
Now, some might say these three plays altered the outcome of the game, but that's overblown. This final score was expected. This beating was expected. Penn State should challenge for the Big Ten title, and Syracuse, well, the Orange won't challenge for much.
Syracuse head coach Greg Robinson seemed to understand that. He started to talk about this metaphorical early-game series in the press conference afterwards, but ended up just talking about the Nittany Lions.
"The way it started was kind of the way it unfolded," Robinson said. "We get a turnover, we make a turnover, then all of a sudden, it just - we played a very good football team. I was very impressed."
Robinson has a point. But for symbolism about the Orange, you can't do much better than the turnover-turnover-touchdown exchange in the first quarter.
It starts early: Penn State ball at its own 43, 2nd-and-1, with two metaphor-free plays already in the books. PSU quarterback Daryll Clark dropped back to pass. Nick Santiago - a senior who's seen each of the seven wins and 31 losses in the Greg Robinson era - clipped Clark's arm, causing a fumble right by the Orange sideline.
Arthur Jones recovered the ball, and his teammates exploded. "That was a great feeling right there," said middle linebacker Jake Flaherty.
That's the hard part. This team is trying. They really are. And that sounds stupid and cliché, but it's still true. They do all the things football teams do: workouts and weight training and practice and skull sessions throughout the week. They come in on their own time to watch film. They play hurt.
There were plenty other plays during the Nittany Lions' 55-13 annihilation of the Orange, but those three, in a way, say a lot about this Syracuse team. They are symbols of its suffering.
Now, some might say these three plays altered the outcome of the game, but that's overblown. This final score was expected. This beating was expected. Penn State should challenge for the Big Ten title, and Syracuse, well, the Orange won't challenge for much.
Syracuse head coach Greg Robinson seemed to understand that. He started to talk about this metaphorical early-game series in the press conference afterwards, but ended up just talking about the Nittany Lions.
"The way it started was kind of the way it unfolded," Robinson said. "We get a turnover, we make a turnover, then all of a sudden, it just - we played a very good football team. I was very impressed."
Robinson has a point. But for symbolism about the Orange, you can't do much better than the turnover-turnover-touchdown exchange in the first quarter.
It starts early: Penn State ball at its own 43, 2nd-and-1, with two metaphor-free plays already in the books. PSU quarterback Daryll Clark dropped back to pass. Nick Santiago - a senior who's seen each of the seven wins and 31 losses in the Greg Robinson era - clipped Clark's arm, causing a fumble right by the Orange sideline.
Arthur Jones recovered the ball, and his teammates exploded. "That was a great feeling right there," said middle linebacker Jake Flaherty.
That's the hard part. This team is trying. They really are. And that sounds stupid and cliché, but it's still true. They do all the things football teams do: workouts and weight training and practice and skull sessions throughout the week. They come in on their own time to watch film. They play hurt.
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