Open Week Notes; SU Prepping for West Virginia
10/24/2000 6:22:21 PM | Football
FREENEY SETS SYRACUSE AND BIG EAST SINGLE-GAME SACK RECORD
Junior defensive end Dwight Freeney (Bloomfield, CT)
sacked Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Vick four and one half times,
breaking the BIG EAST and Syracuse records for sacks in one game -
Freeney is rapidly climbing SU's single-season and career sacks record lists -
His 13.0 this season ranks fourth in SU history, while his 16.5 career sacks is
tied for eighth on the school career record list - His 13 sacks this year is tied
for fifth on the BIG EAST single-season record list - Freeney also has 32 tackles this season, including 18 for a loss of 115 yards.
SYRACUSE DEFENSE MAKES STAND AGAINST TECH
The Orange defense held Virginia Tech's offense to 240 yards, the lowest total it has allowed
this year - It is the lowest offensive output for the Hokies this season and is the lowest
during the Michael Vick era at Tech - SU sacked Vick nine times - Prior to the SU game Tech
had allowed 11 sacks in six games - Syracuse's 21 sacks this season is tied for the best in
the BIG EAST with Pittsburgh - Syracuse's pass defense is the 22nd-best nationally, allowing
182.0 yards per game, while the pass efficiency defense rating is 30th in the nation (106.6) -
Overall the SU defense is 36th, permitting 306.7 yards per game - The rush defense is the
40th-best in the nation (124.7 yards per game).
TELEVISION FOR WEST VIRGINIA GAME
Syracuse's game at West Virginia will be televised on ESPN Regional - Dave Sims,
Jeff Bostic and John Sanders will call the action - Scott Matthews will be the producer.
SU-RUTGERS TELEVISION PLAN ANNOUNCED
SU's game against Rutgers on November 25 will kickoff at noon - The game will be televised
locally on WIXT - Other stations that will air the game include: WWOR (UPN 9) New York, Comcast
SportsNet (Philadelphia), NESN (New England Sports Network) Boston, FOX SPORTS NET FLORIDA,
WOKR (ABC 13) Rochester, WIVT (ABC 34) Binghamton, WUTR (ABC 20) Utica, WETM (NBC 18)
Elmira, WWTI (ABC 50) Watertown and ESPN GamePlan.
CONSISTENCY UNDER CENTER FOR THE ORANGE
Counting off the number of people to start at quarterback for Syracuse during the last
decade does not take long ... Just six players have been the starting signal caller since
1990 ... SU's record during that stretch is 85-38-3 (.687 win percentage) ... Included in
that group are two quarterbacks who were the starters for 74.6 percent of the 126 games ...
Marvin Graves started 45 of 47 games during his four years (1990-93) and Donovan McNabb
started under center for all 49 games during his career from 1995 through 1998 ...
Graves had a career record of 31-12-3, while McNabb's four-year won-loss total was 35-14.
ALL-TIME QUARTERBACK STARTS (Division I-A) 1. Donovan McNabb, Syracuse (1995-98) 49* 2. Mark Barsotti, Fresno State (1988-91) 47* 3. Kevin Sweeney, Fresno State (1982-86) 46 Alex Van Pelt, Pittsburgh (1989-92) 46* 5. Jeff Bender, Central Michigan (1988-91) 45* Marvin Graves, Syracuse (1990-93) 45 Mark Hermann, Purdue (1977-80) 45 John Rauch, Georgia (1945-48) 45* 9. Cade McNown, UCLA (1995-98) 44 Don McPherson, Syracuse (1984-87) 44 Ron Powlus (1994-97) 44 Rodney Williams, Clemson (1985-88) 44 13. Darrell Bevell, Wisconsin 43 Daunte Culpepper, Central Florida (1995-98) 43 Jake Delhomme, UL Lafayette (1993-96) 43* Todd Ellis, South Carolina (1986-89) 43 Joe Hamilton, Georgia Tech (1996-99) 43 Marshall Taylor, Northern Illinois (1985-88) 43 * indicates consecutive starts NOTE: Marshall's Chad Pennington (1995-99) had 51 starts, 12 of which were in Division I-AA.
PRODUCTIVE OFFENSIVE ATTACK IS ONE OF SYRACUSE'S ALL-TIME BEST
The Orange offense has gained an average of 398.7 yards per game, including four games in
which SU has gained more than 425 yards in each game - SU gained a season-high 452 yards
against Brigham Young - SU's 398.7 yards per contest ranks eighth on SU's all-time
single-season yards per game record list.
2000 OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION Opponent Total Offense Buffalo 380 Cincinnati 326 East Carolina 426 Brigham Young 452 Pittsburgh 439 Boston College 440 Virginia Tech 328 Total 2,791 Average 398.7
DEE BROWN LEAPFROGS JIM BROWN ON SU CAREER LIST
Senior running back Dee Brown (Altamonte Springs, FL) is now eighth on Syracuse's
career rushing record list - He climbed three spots with his 19 carry, 71 yard performance
against Virginia Tech - He needs 54 more rushing yards to tie Kyle McIntosh (1995-98) in
the seventh spot on SU's career rushing list - Brown's average of 85.9 yards per game ranks
42nd nationally and fifth in the BIG EAST with 85.9 yards per game - His 95.6 all-purpose
ypg is 10th in the league - His seven-game numbers include 118 carries for 601 yards.
SU Career Rushing Leaders
Name
Yards
Carries
Yds./Carry
TDs
Years
1. Joe Morris
4299
813
5.3
25
1978-81
2. Larry Csonka
2934
594
4.9
19
1965-67
3. Floyd Little
2704
504
5.4
35
1964-66
4. David Walker
2643
503
5.3
17
1989-92
5. Bill Hurley
2551
685
3.7
19
1975-79
6. Ernie Davis
2386
360
6.6
28
1959-61
7. Kyle McIntosh
2250
439
5.4
15
1995-98
8. DEE BROWN
2125
420
5.1
21
1997-present
BROWN RANKS FIFTH ON SU CAREER RUSHING TD RECORD LIST
Brown has carried the ball into the endzone 22 times during his SU career.
SU's Career Rushing Touchdown List
Rank
TD's
Player
Years
1 .
35
Floyd Little
1964-66
2.
28
Ernie Davis
1959-61
3 .
25
Joe Morris
1978-81
4.
23
Jim Brown
1954-56
5.
22
Dee Brown
1997-
WILL ALLEN- CORNERING THE MARKET
THE VERSATALITY OF THE DEFENSIVE BACK AND KICK RETURNER
Thorpe Award candidate Will Allen (Syracuse, NY) is one of the nation's best
kickoff returners, ranking 14th in the country with an average of 25.8 yards per return -
That mark is second in The BIG EAST Conference.
DYNAMITE ON DEFENSE
Allen leads the team with 10 pass break-ups this season - He made three solo tackles
against Virginia Tech, including one for a loss - Allen has 23 tackles and 10 passes
defended this year - His 10 passes defended is tied for second in the BIG EAST - The
Thorpe Award is given to the best defensive back in college football.
ALLEN'S RETURN AVERAGE RANKS SEVENTH
In two years as a kickoff returner, Will Allen is averaging 23.1 yards per return,
which ranks seventh on SU's all-time record list (see chart on right) - His average
of 25.8 yards per return this season ranks third on Syracuse's single season record
list - Former SU kick returner Kevin Johnson holds the record with an average of
30.0 yards per return in 1998..
ALL-TIME YARDS PER RETURN (MIN. 20) 1. 39.9 Floyd Little 1964-66 2. 29.1 Jim Brown 1954-56 3. 28.7 Kevin Johnson 1995-98 4. 25.1 Joe Morris 1978-81 5. 24.8 Harold Gayden 1982-86 24.8 Jim Turner 1994-97 7. 23.1 Will Allen 1997- 8. 22.3 Kirby Dar Dar 1991-93 9. 21.8 Art Monk 1976-79 21.8 Qadry Ismail 1989-92 11. 21.2 Pat Woodcock 1997- 12. 21.3 Greg Walker 1988-91 21.3 Michael Owens 1987-89
ALLEN ENTERS TOP 10 ON SU KICKOFF RETURN YARDS LIST
In his second year as a kickoff returner Will Allen is making a statement - The senior moved
into SU's top 10 career kickoff return leaders with three takebacks for 60 yards against
Virginia Tech.
Yards Ret. Name Years 1. 2,290 105 Qadry Ismail 1989-92 2. 1,688 68 Jim Turner 1994-97 3. 1,562 71 Harold Gayden 1982-86 4. 1,437 50 Kevin Johnson 1995-98 5. 1,096 47 Kirby Dar Dar 1991-93 6. 1,004 40 Joe Morris 1978-81 7. 959 50 Warren Harvey 1976-79 8. 797 20 Floyd Little 1964-66 9. 723 34 Michael Owens 1987-89 10. 692 30 Will Allen 1997- 11. 675 31 Art Monk 1976-79 12. 632 35 Larry King 1974-77 13. 611 21 Jim Brown 1954-56 14. 536 25 Pat Woodcock 1997-
MUNGRO IS AMONG NATION'S BEST RUNNERS
Junior running back James Mungro (East Stroudsburg, PA) is 43rd in the Division I-A and sixth in the BIG EAST with 84.5 yards per game - He is eighth in the conference averaging 100.2 all-purpose yards per game.
MUNGRO'S AVE. YARDS PER CARRY IS IMPRESSIVE
Mungro's average of 7.7 yards per rush is second in the country among the top-50 rushers - Mungro trails only San Jose State's Deonce Whitaker, who averages 8.32 yards per rush (117 carries, 973 yards and 11 touchdowns).
MUNGRO HAS FIVE CAREER 100-YARD GAMES
Mungro has gained more than 100 yards in a game five times in his career, including four in 2000 - That mark ties Robert Drummond (1985-88) and Michael Owens (1987-89) for 11th place on SU's 100-yards game rushing list - Mungro gained at least 100 yards in four consecutive games, beginning with SU's game at East Carolina and continuing through SU's contest at Boston College when he rushed for a season-high 155 yards - That was Mungro's best rushing output since in the 1999 Music City Bowl (162 yard rushing) - He leads the team with 7.7 yards per carry - He is SU's second leading rusher with 507 yards on 66 carries - He is tied with senior Dee Brown (Altamonte Springs, FL) sophomore David Tyree (Montclair, NJ) for the team lead with four touchdowns.
NUNES IS QUICKLY ASCENDING SU CAREER RECORD LISTS
Sophomore quarterback Troy Nunes (Butler, PA) recorded 217 yards passing
against Virginia Tech - He remains in eighth place at Syracuse with 2,403 - Nunes is
190 yards away from seventh place, held by Dave Warner (2,593 yards from 1978-81) -
He ranks eighth on the career completions list with 183 and is tied for fifth with
19 touchdown passes.
Most Passing Yards
1. 8,466 Marvin Graves 1990-93
2. 8,389 Donovan McNabb 1995-98
3. 5,812 Don McPherson 1983-87
4. 3,398 Bill Hurley 1975-79
5. 2,661 Todd Norley 1982-85
6. 2,617 Bernie Custis 1948-50
7. 2,593 Dave Warner 1978-81
8. 2,403 Troy Nunes 1999-
9. 2,116 Pat Stark 1951-53
10. 2,105 Todd Philcox 1985-88
Most Completions
1. 563 Marvin Graves 1990-93
2. 548 Donovan McNabb 1995-98
3. 367 Don McPherson 1983-87
4. 250 Todd Norley 1982-85
5. 228 Bill Hurley 1975-79
6. 209 Dave Warner 1978-81
7. 196 Bernie Custis 1948-50
8. 183 Troy Nunes 1999-
Most Touchdown Passes Thrown
1. 77 Donovan McNabb 1995-98
2. 48 Marvin Graves 1990-93
3. 46 Don McPherson 1983-87
4. 23 Dave Sarette 1959-61
5. 19 Troy Nunes 1999-
19 Pat Stark 1951-53
19 Bill Hurley 1975-79
NUNES ASCENDS SOPHOMORE PASSING RECORD LIST
In six games, Nunes is fourth among Syracuse's top sophomore passers with 1,045 yards ... He is 424 yards away from third-place Don McPherson (1985) with 1,469 ... Marvin Graves had the best sophomore year with 1,912 yards in 1991.
TOP SOPHOMORE PASSERS 1. Marvin Graves 1991 1,912 2. Donovan McNabb 1996 1,776 3. Don McPherson 1985 1,469 4. Troy Nunes 2000 1,262
NUNES RANKS AMONG NATION'S BEST PASSERS
Nunes ranks 26th in the Division I-A and fourth in the BIG EAST passing efficiency rankings with a 135.9 rating.
JACKSON HAS CAREER RECEIVING DAY
Junior Maurice Jackson (Rochester, NY) had a career-high 155 receiving yards on a personal-best four receptions, including the longest reception of his career, against Virginia Tech - Jackson caught a Troy Nunes (Butler, PA) pass and took it a personal-best 78 yards for a touchdown - It was Jackson's first receiving score this year and second overall touchdown of the season - Against Pittsburgh he caught a career-high four passes for 55 yards, averaging 13.8 yards per reception - He has 233 yards on 11 catches this season, averaging 21.2 yards per catch - Against Brigham Young, Jackson scored his first touchdown of the season on an 18-yard reverse in the first quarter - It was Jackson's lone carry of the game - Jackson has executed a reverse four times this season (37 yards , 9.3 yards per carry).
JACKSON RETURNS KICKS
Junior Maurice Jackson returned one kickoff for 22 yards against Boston College - It was his second career kickoff return - Against Pittsburgh he took one back for 24 yards.
WOODCOCK EYES 1,00-CAREER RECEIVING YARD MARK
Senior wide receiver Pat Woodcock (Kanata, Ontario, Canada) had 17 yards receiving against Virginia Tech, moving him to within 26 yards of the 1,000-yard receiving mark - Woodcock has 974 career receiving yards on 54 catches - He had two catches against the Hokies, increasing his team-lead to 21 receptions this season - This year he has 380 yards and is averaging 18.1 yards per catch - His 54.3 yards per game is seventh in the BIG EAST this season - Woodcock ranks 16th on SU's all-time receiving yards record list - Deval Glover (1985-88) is 15th with 989 yards - Woodcock's streak of 16 consecutive games with at least one reception ended against Boston College.
WOODCOCK SETS CAREER-BEST WITH SEVEN CATCHES
Woodcock hauled in a career-high seven passes against Pittsburgh and was second on the team with 71 yards receiving - His previous career-high was four catches at Miami in 1999 - Against Brigham Young, Woodcock became the 47th player in school history to catch a pair of touchdowns in a game - Woodcock had a career-high 144 yards receiving, including two touchdown catches, one for a career-best 79 yards and the other was a 65-yard scoring play - The 79-yard reception ties for the seventh-longest passing play in SU history.
WOODCOCK MAKES SIGNIFICANT GAIN WITH EVERY CATCH
Woodcock is averaging 18.0 yards per reception in his career, which ranks seventh on Syracuse's career average yards per catch record list.
ORANGE USES MULTIPLE OFFENSIVE WEAPONS
Syracuse is getting a lot of players involved in the offensive game plan this season - Twelve different Orangemen have rushed the ball this season and 12 have been on the receiving end of a pass - Against Buffalo a season-high 10 different players rushed the ball, while a season-best eight receivers caught passes against Brigham Young - Senior Pat Woodcock leads the team in receiving yards with 380 and receptions with 21 - Senior Dee Brown is the Orangemen's leading rusher with 601 yards on 118 carries.
SU SPECIAL TEAMS HALTS RETURNS
SU's special teams defense is allowing just 5.5 yards per punt return and 15.7 yards per kickoff return - SU's kickoff coverages ranks first in the BIG EAST - On the flip side, SU's offensive special teams is averaging 8.9 yards per punt takeback and 23.7 yards per kickoff return, which ranks 13th nationally.
TYREE- MAKING PLAYS
Sophomore David Tyree (Montclair, NJ) is SU's leader in yards per catch with an average of 24.0 yards per reception - He caught one pass for 21 yards against Boston College, increasing his season totals to eight receptions for 192 yards - Against Pittsburgh Tyree became the 48th player in school history to catch two touchdowns in a game - Tyree caught the game-winning touchdown, a 23-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Troy Nunes, in the second overtime - His first touchdown pass came in the second quarter, a career-long 65-yard reception from Nunes - Tyree's 88 yards receiving is a single-game career-best - He scored his first career receiving touchdown against Cincinnati.
TYREE EXCELS ON SPECIAL TEAMS
Sophomore David Tyree blocked his second punt of the season against Virginia Tech, getting a hand on Robert Peaslee's punt with less two minutes remaining in the second quarter, giving SU the ball at the Virginia Tech 23-yard line - Against Buffalo Tyree made two special teams plays that put points on the board for the Orangemen against Buffalo - In the third quarter Tyree scored his first collegiate touchdown by blocking a punt by Dallas Pelz and returning it 20 yards for the touchdown - He also scored on a two-point conversion - Tyree has six special teams tackles this year.
TIGHT END DUO PROVIDES OFFENSIVE SPARK
MANLEY SETS PERSONAL RECEIVING HIGHS
For the third time this season, junior tight end Graham Manley (Olney, MD) tied his career single-game reception mark - Manley caught the ball three times for 25 yards against Virginia Tech - He caught a trio of passes for a personal-high 31 yards at Boston College - Manley also had three receptions for 26 yards at Cincinnati, with all three catches during SU's final drive of the game - He caught a 23-yard pass in the second quarter against Brigham Young, marking the longest reception of his career - He is fourth on the team with 10 catches for 105 yards this season - The 2000 season marks the first for Manley as a starter.
LEWIS SCORES SECOND CAREER TOUCHDOWN
Senior tight end Aaron Lewis (Bayview, TX) hauled in a 20-yard touchdown pass late in the third quarter, marking the second reception and touchdown of his career and his first since 1997 - The last time Lewis caught a pass was at Oklahoma when he grabbed an eight-yard touchdown pass from Donovan McNabb.
SHAFER'S PUNTING AVERAGE RANKS 40TH NATIONALLY AND SECOND IN THE BIG EAST
Sophomore Mike Shafer (Sarasota, FL) punted the ball a season-long 54 yards against Virginia Tech - His two punts resulted in a personal-best 49.5-yard average for the game - His previous best was 43.3 yards per punt at Boston College - Shafer is 31st in the nation and second in the BIG EAST, averaging 41.8 yards per punt - He has punted 26 times for 1,087 yards this season.
SHAFER LEADS SU IN SCORING
Sophomore Mike Shafer has scored 37 points in seven games this season, including 22 PATs and five field goals - He recorded Syracuse's first points of the Pittsburgh game on a career-long 37-yard field goal in the second quarter - Against UC Shafer kicked a 35-yard field goal with 43 seconds remaining, marking his first collegiate field goal - The kick gave Syracuse a 10-9 lead in the game.
KOZIK KICKS OFF
Junior placekicker Ben Kozik (Adams, MA) kicked off three times, averaging 55.3 yards per attempt, including a pair of 59-yard kicks - Against Boston College he averaged a season-best 57 yards per kickoff - He also averaged 57 yards per kickoff against Pittsburgh - Kozik kicked off in the East Carolina (56.3 yards per kickoff) and Cincinnati (56 yards per kickoff) games - His season average is 54.1 on 19 kicks.
CAMPBELL PLAYS TWO PARTS
Sophomore Malik Campbell (Buffalo, NY) is SU's second-leading pass catcher this season with 18 receptions for 194 yards (10.8 yards per catch) - Campbell caught two passes for 17 yards against Virginia Tech - He led SU in receiving yards with 57 (three receptions) against East Carolina - Against Cincinnati he had a career-best eight receptions for a personal-best 66 yards - His eight catches ties for 12th on SU's single-game receiving record list - As a punt returner, Campbell is 49th in Division I-A and sixth in the BIG EAST, averaging 9.3 yards per return (23 attempts for 213 yards) - He returned one punt for six yards against the Hokies - Against Brigham Young he returned a career-high six punts for a personal-best 57 yards - This is Campbell's first season as SU's punt returner.
PETTIJOHN AND FREENEY CLIMB SU CAREER SACKS RECORD LIST
Duke Pettijohn increased his career total to 21.5 sacks with 2.5 against Virginia Tech, moving into the third spot on SU's career sacks record list - Dwight Freeney set a Syracuse and BIG EAST record with 4.5 against the Hokies - He moves into a tie for eighth in the career list.
SU CAREER SACKS 1. 45.5 Tim Green 1982-85 2. 23.0 Terry Wooden 1986-89 3. 21.5 Duke Pettijohn 1997- 4. 21.0 Kevin Mitchell 1990-93 5. 20.5 Jamie Kimmel 1980-84 6. 18.0 Rob Burnett 1986-89 7. 17.0 Ted Gregory 1985-88 8. 16.5 Dwight Freeney 1998- 16.5 Keith Friberg 1985-88 16.5 Garland Hawkins 1989-92
FREENEY GET TO OPPOSING QBs
Junior defensive end Dwight Freeney (Bloomfield, CT) broke the Syracuse and BIG EAST single-game sack record with four and one-half against Virginia Tech - Freeney increased his season total to a team-high 13 sacks, which ranks fourth on SU's single-season sack list and first in the BIG EAST this year - His 16.5 career sacks is tied for eighth in school history with Keith Friberg (1985-88) and Garland Hawkins (1989-92) - He extended his consecutive game-sack streak to eight, dating back to the 1999 Music City Bowl game against Kentucky - Against Boston College he forced his third fumble of the season, recovered by Boston College, on the first play of the second quarter - He is also tied for first in the BIG EAST in forced fumbles with three - Freeney has 32 tackles this season and leads the squad with 18 tackles for a loss - He is first in the BIG EAST in tackles for a loss.
PETTIJOHN CLIMBS TO THIRD ON CAREER SACK LIST
Senior defensive end Duke Pettijohn (Mattapan, MA) recorded two and one-half sacks against Virginia Tech, moving him into third place on the SU career sack charts - His 21.5 career sacks surpasses Kevin Mitchell's (1990-93) 21 at SU - He has recorded at least one sack in the last three consecutive games - Pettijohn also had four tackles against the Hokies - Against Boston College he had four tackles, including two for a loss, and two quarterback hurries - Against Pittsburgh Pettijohn posted his first sack of the season and added four tackles and two quarterback hurries - He recorded 10.5 sacks last year, which ranks fifth on SU's single-season record list - Pettijohn, who began his SU career as a linebacker, has played in 38 games, starting 26 -He has 26 stops and four and one-half sacks this season.
WALKER IS SYRACUSE'S TACKLES LEADER
Sophomore strong safety Keeon Walker (Hoboken, NJ) had eight tackles against Virginia Tech, increasing his season total to 58, which is second on the team - Against Pittsburgh he had a career-high nine solo tackles - He has been SU's defensive tackles leader in three of seven games this year - He recorded his second fumble recovery of the season against Brigham Young - His first was against Cincinnati in the second game of the season - He had a career-high 14 stops against Cincinnati - Walker moved to safety from running back prior to the 2000 spring practice.
Walker's 2000 Statistics Tackles Ast. Tot. PD Buffalo 3 1 4 0 Cincinnati 7 7 14 0 East Carolina 7 3 10 1 BYU 4 2 6 0 Pittsburgh 9 0 9 1 Boston College 4 3 7 0 Virginia Tech 3 5 8 0 Totals 37 21 58 2
GREENWOOD CONTINUES TO LEAD SU DEFENSE
Senior linebacker Morlon Greenwood (Freeport, NY) recorded 11 tackles, including seven solo stops, and a quarterback hurry against Virginia Tech - He is third on the team with 57 tackles - He also has five tackles for a loss of 16 yards, four pass break-ups and three quarterback hurries - Against Boston College, he had seven tackles, including one for a loss, and one quarterback hurry at Boston College - Against Pittsburgh he broke up two passes and had eight tackles, including six assisted stops - Greenwood has made 43 consecutive starts at SU - Greenwood was rated the 15th-best outside linebacker nationally by Lindy's preseason magazine and was one of the 70-players on the Butkus Award Watch List - Greenwood did not make the cut to 10 players for the award.
SMITH IS SU's LEADING TACKLER
Sophomore linebacker Clifton Smith (Freeport, NY) posted a team-high 14 tackles, including seven solo stops, against Virginia Tech - His seven assisted tackles was a career-high, surpassing his previous best of six at Boston College - He added one tackle for a loss in the game and his first quarterback hurry of the season - Smith leads the team with 63 tackles and has four tackles for a loss - His 63 tackles this year is three shy of his total from his rookie season (66) - Against Cincinnati he recorded the first fumble recovery of his career and returned it three yards
HARRIS INJURES KNEE AGAINST VIRGINIA TECH
Junior free safety Quentin Harris suffered a right knee injury against Virginia Tech - His return status is not certain - He recorded two tackles before he left the game - Harris sustained a separated shoulder against Cincinnati and missed SU's game at East Carolina - He returned from the shoulder injury to record eight tackles and two pass break-ups against BYU - Harris is tied for fifth on the squad with 33 stops this season he also has two pass break-ups and one fumble recovery on the season.
SIMPKINS LEADS SU IN QB HURRIES
Senior defensive tackle Rickie Simpkins (Middle Village, NY) increased his team lead in quarterback hurries to 13 with two against Virginia Tech - Simpkins recorded 10 tackles against the Hokies, increasing his season total to 36 tackles, including three for a loss - Against Pittsburgh he recorded a career-high seven quarterback hurries and had six tackles, including two for a loss - Simpkins had a career-high 12 tackles against Cincinnati.
FORD IS SU'S FIFTH-LEADING TACKLER
Junior cornerback Willie Ford (Falmouth, MA) had three tackles and a pass break-up against Virginia Tech - He is tied for fifth on the team with 36 tackles this season - His six pass break-ups is SU's second highest total.
Ford has started 10 games at cornerback in his career, including five in 1999 - Ford started SU's games against Buffalo and Cincinnati at strong safety.
DOWNING RECORDS CAREER-BEST AGAINST TECH
Senior defensive tackle Eric Downing (Paterson, NJ) tied a career-high with seven tackles and marked a career-best with five solo stops against Virginia Tech - Downing had seven stops against the Hokies in 1999 and Cincinnati in 2000 - He made two tackles for a loss and two quarterback hurries against Virginia Tech - He has 35 tackles, five tackles for a loss and 12 quarterback hurries this season - Downing also recorded one forced fumble (vs. Buffalo) and one fumble recovery (vs. Cincinnati) this season.
SCANLON MATCHES CAREER-HIGH AGAINST VIRGINIA TECH
Redshirt freshman Rich Scanlon (Oradell, NJ) tied his career-high with two tackles for the third time this season - Scanlon had two tackles against Virginia Tech - He recorded two tackles, including one for a loss, at Boston College - He posted two stops against Buffalo - Scanlon has 11 tackles this season.
HUNTER RECORDS SECOND SACK OF THE SEASON
Junior cornerback Will Hunter (Chester, PA) recorded a sack against Virginia Tech, giving him two this season - He also had one tackle in the game, giving him 20 in 2000 - Against BYU, Hunter forced a first-quarter fumble that led to SU's third touchdown of the game - Hunter freed up the ball and it was recovered by sophomore strong safety Keeon Walker (Hoboken, NJ) - He also recorded his first career sack against the Cougars - Against Buffalo, he had a personal-best seven tackles, including six solo stops (one for a loss of 14 yards), one assist and also had one quarterback hurry.
HOLTZMAN TIES PERSONAL-BEST AGAINST VA. TECH
Junior defensive tackle Mark Holtzman (McKeesport, PA) tied a career-high with two tackles against Virginia Tech - Holtzman set the career-high against Buffalo - He has five tackles this season.
DEFENSE FORCES FUMBLES
The SU defense has recovered six fumbles, and forced 15 total, in six games in 2000, one more than its total from the 1999 season - Last year SU forced the opponent to cough up the ball 12 times and recovered five of those - Against Buffalo three of the five turnovers the defense forced were fumbles - The last time the Orangemen forced three fumbles was against Miami in 1998 - SU recovered two fumbles against Cincinnati and one against Brigham Young.
