Spring Break
The Daily OrangeFB | Once again, Brinkley's best not quite enough for Syracuse
By John Clayton
Posted: 10/13/08, 3:59 AM EST Section: Sports
But that hasn't been enough. Neither has Brinkley's 621 yards rushing this year, already a personal single-season best. Or his 100-plus yards a game and 5.5 yards a carry. As much as he's tried to pick this team up and carry it on his back, Syracuse is still 1-5. This offense is still improving, this defense still finding its identity. Brinkley can't win these games by himself.
Not that he hasn't tried. Brinkley has provided flashes this year. A highlight reel, 43-yard scamper against Pittsburgh that left a Panthers safety twisted on the ground. A career-high 145 yards and a touchdown to lead SU to its only win of the year over Northeastern. As Brinkley goes, so goes this offense.
That was evident again at West Virginia. Syracuse's gameplan was to throw the football, and it did so (Dantley threw 40 times). But by the fourth quarter, it was the Curtis Brinkley show again. He carried 10 times in the frame for 72 yards. "I started to get into my rhythm in the second half," Brinkley said.
Twice in the second half against the Mountaineers, Brinkley took a third-and-short handoff and leaped over the line of scrimmage, the 5-foot-9 back soaring over heap of grappling lineman below him for a first down.
"I'll tell you what says it all about Curtis is those third down runs, and fourth and short, and he's giving it up, going up over the top," head coach Greg Robinson said. "He's a talented football player, but he plays with his heart, and it's very obvious. He's a courageous football player. "
Being courageous unfortunately isn't enough for this offense. Brinkley shepherded Syracuse into striking distance, but he couldn't get them into the endzone. And without Brinkley to finish the job,
Syracuse's offense promptly ceded the ball, and the game, to the Mountaineers.
Losses like this have taken a toll on every Syracuse player, but nobody seems to wear it after games quite like Brinkley. Two weeks earlier, Brinkley stood in a dingy room in the underbelly of the Carrier Dome after SU's collapse against Pittsburgh, a hat pulled low over his eyes. "There's no reason we should have lost that game," Brinkley declared. "I'm very upset right now." He had rushed for 119 yards that day on 16 carries.
The scene was eerily similar Saturday. That same defiance that manifests itself in Brinkley's play was there.
"No disrespect to West Virginia, to any of these teams we've played, but these teams really aren't that good," Brinkley said. "I mean, they're good, but we can play with these teams."
Curtis Brinkley certainly can. The rest of Syracuse cannot right now. And one man can only do so much.
John Clayton is the sports editor of The Daily Orange, where his columns appear occasionally. He can be reached at jsclayto@syr.edu.
Not that he hasn't tried. Brinkley has provided flashes this year. A highlight reel, 43-yard scamper against Pittsburgh that left a Panthers safety twisted on the ground. A career-high 145 yards and a touchdown to lead SU to its only win of the year over Northeastern. As Brinkley goes, so goes this offense.
That was evident again at West Virginia. Syracuse's gameplan was to throw the football, and it did so (Dantley threw 40 times). But by the fourth quarter, it was the Curtis Brinkley show again. He carried 10 times in the frame for 72 yards. "I started to get into my rhythm in the second half," Brinkley said.
Twice in the second half against the Mountaineers, Brinkley took a third-and-short handoff and leaped over the line of scrimmage, the 5-foot-9 back soaring over heap of grappling lineman below him for a first down.
"I'll tell you what says it all about Curtis is those third down runs, and fourth and short, and he's giving it up, going up over the top," head coach Greg Robinson said. "He's a talented football player, but he plays with his heart, and it's very obvious. He's a courageous football player. "
Being courageous unfortunately isn't enough for this offense. Brinkley shepherded Syracuse into striking distance, but he couldn't get them into the endzone. And without Brinkley to finish the job,
Syracuse's offense promptly ceded the ball, and the game, to the Mountaineers.
Losses like this have taken a toll on every Syracuse player, but nobody seems to wear it after games quite like Brinkley. Two weeks earlier, Brinkley stood in a dingy room in the underbelly of the Carrier Dome after SU's collapse against Pittsburgh, a hat pulled low over his eyes. "There's no reason we should have lost that game," Brinkley declared. "I'm very upset right now." He had rushed for 119 yards that day on 16 carries.
The scene was eerily similar Saturday. That same defiance that manifests itself in Brinkley's play was there.
"No disrespect to West Virginia, to any of these teams we've played, but these teams really aren't that good," Brinkley said. "I mean, they're good, but we can play with these teams."
Curtis Brinkley certainly can. The rest of Syracuse cannot right now. And one man can only do so much.
John Clayton is the sports editor of The Daily Orange, where his columns appear occasionally. He can be reached at jsclayto@syr.edu.
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