All season long Delone Carter has been a snowball, rolling and rolling along. On Saturday, that snowball caught fire as Carter scored four TDs in Syracuse's torching of Colgate 42-7.
Sure, Colgate has no scholarship players. And sure, their enrollment is a scant 2,800. And yes, they're a FCS school.
But you know what? A win's a win's a win. Especially for the Orange.
Unlike previous games, the Orange offense was all about the running game. SU racked up 437 yards on offense and 260 of that was on the ground. DC3 led the way with 174 yards on 14 carries for a gaudy 12.3 YPC average. Prince-Tyson gained 41 and a score while Antwon Bailey grabbed 27 yards to go with his receiving touchdown.
First, we can't go too far without discussing the time of possession. Part of the reason the YPC averages were so high is because the Orange didn't quite have the ball all that much. The time of possession was 44:26 to 15:34. I mean, look at that? That's ridiculous. A halfway decent team cannot possibly lose when they've got that much of a time advantage with the ball. Thankfully, this is one situation where the talent level was just too tilted in SU's direction.
How does a team have the ball 1/3 of the time as the other one and win by 35 points? Credit an offense that moved efficiently down the field and a defense that created opportunities.
Ryan Nassib's day was rather ordinary and a little off-kilter (8 of 15, 169 yards, 1 TD), but then again, that's all that was asked of him on the day. The Orange didn't need a big game out of Ryan, only that he locate his running backs and insert the ball into their hands (That said, make sure you check over your shoulders now and again, Ryan. Never know who's coming).
The defense came up with their first and second interceptions of the season. Mike Holmes, who's probably looking at another Big East Honors week, grabbed the first one and returned it 42 yards. He also ran two punts back for 44 yards. Looks like the jitters are subsiding. Da'Mon Merkerson grabbed the other interception.
The defense never broke, but they bent all day long. Colgate only put seven points on the board but they made the SU defense work. The Raiders gained 230 yards on the ground with Nick Eachus garnered 157 on them. Those number are almost identical to the numbers the Monmouth defense gave up in Colgate's last game. That seems...wrong.
Derrell Smith's possible injury should have all Syracuse fans reasonably spooked. The heart and soul of the defense left the game with some kind of knee injury but returned. Fingers crossed its nothing major. Unfortunately, it doesn't sound like the same can be said for Nick Provo's injury. When asked in the press conference, Marrone played coy about the details. Not a good sign. Steve Rene also injured his shoulder in the game
Akron, Maine and Colgate. Three wins over three very unimpressive opponents. One on hand, we're 3-1 for the first time since 2003 with an extremely weak Big East schedule ahead of us. On the other hand, it would be fair to say Syracuse has yet to truly prove itself against a credible opponent.
Fans of Pitt and Cincinnati will point to our schedule to explain why we're in the position we are versus them. Let them. The truth is, Syracuse fans don't need to explain themselves to anyone. We've scheduled about as tough as anyone in this conference for the last ten years. We gave ourselves one year to sort ourselves out. We also happened to pick the best year possible to do it, all things considered in the conference.
We're 3-1. Let's enjoy that.
Su-Colgate Recap: The Sunny Side...Brent Axe
SU-Colgate Recap: The Dark Side...Brent Axe
SU-Colgate Recap: This, That, and the Other Thing...Brent Axe
Syracuse's players realize this is football, not a bathing-suit competition. So they'll smile at 3-1...Bud Poliquin
Colgate borrows page from Florida's playbook and gives Syracuse University defense fits...Dave Rahme
Time not on its side, but Syracuse University grinds out 42-7 victory over Colgate...Nolan Weidner
Colgate quarterback's Carrier Dome reunion ends in defeat vs. Syracuse University football team...Dave Rahme
Even with victory, shaky SU defense realizes improvement necessary heading into Big East play...Daily Orange
RUNNING WILD: Backfield tandem of Carter, Bailey lead Orange to win over Raiders...Daily Orange
Delone Carter Leads Syracuse to Best Start Since 2003!...Cuse Connection
Syracuse - Colgate Observations...Three Idiots on Sports
Colgate still pretty good...Utica Observer Dispatch
Delone Carter talks about his big game against Colgate:
| Syracuse vs. Colgate Football: Delone Carter Post-Game Press Conference |
Nolan watched Bud explain what happened in the game:
| Orange Overwhelm Colgate at the Dome |
Doug Marrone on Syracuse's win over Colgate:
| Syracuse vs. Colgate Football: Coach Marrone Post-Game Press Conference |
One of Delone's four touchdowns on the day: