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The Daily OrangeFB: Orange collapses in fourth quarter, loses 34-24 to Pitt
By John Clayton
Posted: 9/27/08, 3:11 PM EST Section: Sports
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He shouted and clapped and motioned with the rolled up sheet in his hand. One more quarter. That was all Syracuse needed. All it needed for a banner win in its Big East opener. All it needed to show its season wasn't lost quite yet.
Instead, Robinson watched as his team folded, and allowed the Panthers to seize control and run away with a 34-24 win at the Carrier Dome. Pittsburgh scored the game's final 21 points, its ball control-style wearing down a Syracuse team that had played front-runner all day. The Orange was limited to 27 total yards total yards and one first down in the final 15 minutes, unable to answer the Panthers offensive flurry.
"I give Pitt credit, especially there in the fourth quarter when they got control of the game and did a lot of things," Robinson said. "It's still a 60 minute game … I think we had our chances, that's the thing that I say, that we had chances and didn't really capitalize enough."
Missed opportunities have been a common occurrence for Syracuse (1-4) this season, but the Orange needed this game, needed a bright start to its conference schedule.
Those factors would have made any loss Saturday difficult for the Orange to swallow. But Syracuse's fourth quarter collapse made it even harder.
"We shoulda won the game," senior tailback Curtis Brinkley said. "The momentum was in our favor. The offense was executing, the defense was doing good … there's no way they should have won that game. I'm very upset right now"
That's because Saturday looked destined to be Syracuse's day.
Like when sophomore cornerback Mike Holmes gave the Orange a 7-3 lead, taking a first quarter kickoff and streaking untouched down the left sideline for a 90-yard touchdown return.
Or when Brinkley, who ran for 119 yards on 16 carries, broke a highlight reel run in the second quarter, shaking Pitt defenders and scampering 43 yards. That set up a 25-yard Pat Shadle field goal to give SU a 17-13 lead at the half.
Viewing Comments 1 - 5 of 5
matt
posted 9/27/08 @ 5:23 PM EST
get rid of him now.
matt
posted 9/27/08 @ 5:27 PM EST
get rid of him now.
sdye
Steve Dye
posted 9/28/08 @ 8:32 AM EST
To quote the great Yogi Bera, "It's like déjà vu all over again."
Kristen Wisinski
posted 9/29/08 @ 11:15 AM EST
Crouthamel let Pasqualoni lose for far too long and now Gross is doing the same? This program is so far gone at this point, it will take at least 10 years to come back. (Continued…)
Olin MacGregor
posted 9/29/08 @ 12:19 PM EST
.. TIMIDITY .. a word used this morning in one newspaper account ..
Truth is .. Head Football Coach Greg Robinson is a proven person ..
Numerous career terminations . (Continued…)
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