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
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Curtis Brinkley should be savoring games like this. He is, after all, playing the best football of his collegiate career, a sort of redemption after four frustrating seasons crammed with injuries and setbacks.
But there wasn't a hint of satisfaction about Brinkley Saturday, only anguish scribbled on the senior tailback's face following Syracuse's 17-6 loss here at West Virginia. His legs had carried him 144 yards - the fourth time in five games he'd eclipsed 100 rushing yards - and carried the Orange into striking distance late the fourth, five yards away from a potential game-winning touchdown.
Brinkley had carried eight times for 44 yards on that penultimate drive. He had willed Syracuse down the field. But as the SU tailback found out again Saturday, he can only will this team so far.
Sooner or later, somebody else on the Syracuse offense needed to step up and make a play. That somebody never materialized. On 4th-and-4 from the five, Cameron Dantley's desperation toss fluttered innocently away, along with SU's visions of an upset.
And once again, Brinkley was left with little to show after another memorable outing. A familiar refrain for the senior who has shined amidst the dark, depressing backdrop of this season.
"This is, this is, devastating," Brinkley said after the game. "This feels like I just lost my championship game in high school. This is the worst loss that I've experienced in college football. … We could have beat
this (team)."
Then again, Saturday's game possessed a familiar air. Curtis Brinkley driving the Orange, prodding it along in futile fashion only to suffer another defeat. He's been Syracuse's best player this season, speedy and shifty and elusive, there one moment and five yards downfield the next.
Brinkley has finally fulfilled the expectations that tailed him to Syracuse. Before a pair of knee surgeries and a broken leg last October derailed his career. He was the forgotten man going into this season obscured by the return of Delone Carter. But Brinkley has been a revelation, the unquestioned leader of SU's attack. He's having the best season by an SU tailback since Walter Reyes in 2003.
But there wasn't a hint of satisfaction about Brinkley Saturday, only anguish scribbled on the senior tailback's face following Syracuse's 17-6 loss here at West Virginia. His legs had carried him 144 yards - the fourth time in five games he'd eclipsed 100 rushing yards - and carried the Orange into striking distance late the fourth, five yards away from a potential game-winning touchdown.
Brinkley had carried eight times for 44 yards on that penultimate drive. He had willed Syracuse down the field. But as the SU tailback found out again Saturday, he can only will this team so far.
Sooner or later, somebody else on the Syracuse offense needed to step up and make a play. That somebody never materialized. On 4th-and-4 from the five, Cameron Dantley's desperation toss fluttered innocently away, along with SU's visions of an upset.
And once again, Brinkley was left with little to show after another memorable outing. A familiar refrain for the senior who has shined amidst the dark, depressing backdrop of this season.
"This is, this is, devastating," Brinkley said after the game. "This feels like I just lost my championship game in high school. This is the worst loss that I've experienced in college football. … We could have beat
this (team)."
Then again, Saturday's game possessed a familiar air. Curtis Brinkley driving the Orange, prodding it along in futile fashion only to suffer another defeat. He's been Syracuse's best player this season, speedy and shifty and elusive, there one moment and five yards downfield the next.
Brinkley has finally fulfilled the expectations that tailed him to Syracuse. Before a pair of knee surgeries and a broken leg last October derailed his career. He was the forgotten man going into this season obscured by the return of Delone Carter. But Brinkley has been a revelation, the unquestioned leader of SU's attack. He's having the best season by an SU tailback since Walter Reyes in 2003.
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