October Brings an Open Date for Football Orange

Weekly Notes (PDF)
Head Coach Greg Robinson Press Conference Transcript

After playing four of five games in the Carrier Dome to start the season, the football Orange will go on the road for two October contests. After an open date on October 4, Syracuse will play at West Virginia on Oct. 11 and at South Florida on Oct. 18. Syracuse returns to the Dome for a November 1 game against Louisville.

“Just as I told the team, we have seven games left. The thing I know about this team, is that we still have room to grow and develop,” said head coach Greg Robinson. “I do believe if we maintain the proper focus through this bye week and really use it to our advantage we have a change to be a much better football team two weeks from now. That's what we have to strive to do is get better every week. I think it is happening. That's what the focus is.”

While the Orange do have five seniors who start on offense and five on defense, out of the 58 players who have taken the field for the Orange this season, 35 are players with less than two years of collegiate experience, including eight true freshmen, six redshirt freshmen, eight true sophomores and 13 redshirt sophomores.

“On the defensive side of the ball yesterday, I felt a comfort zone out there with our players for the first time all season,” Robinson said.” That was the first time I saw them out there, together, functioning together. There are still young players who I think are improving. We want to incorporate those people because they give you depth. On the offensive side of the ball, that offensive line, of the first seven players who play, five of them are young. They've improved a good amount. I think that they can develop. I think the wide receiver position is only going to get better. I see it looking cleaner and cleaner. I think that they're competing with each other and that's a good thing.”

Through the first five games of the season, the Orange run game has excelled. Senior Curtis Brinkley ranks 23rd on Syracuse’s career rushing yards record list with 1,445 yards gained on 341 carries. He recorded his third 100-yard rushing game of the season against Pittsburgh (119 yards on 16 carries), which ties for second in the BIG EAST. Brinkley is the first SU back to have three 100-yard games in a season since 2004. The last SU back to record three 100-yard games in the first five games of the season was Walter Reyes in 2003. Brinkley gained a career-high 145 rushing yards on 24 carries and scored a touchdown against Northeastern and ran for 143 yards and a touchdown against Akron. He is tied for 34th nationally and is fifth in the BIG EAST in rushing yards with 95.4 yards per game.

Kicker Patrick Shadle is also etching his name in the Orange record books. He scored six points against Pittsburgh, hitting a 25-yard field goal and three PATs, increasing his career scoring total to 155, which ties for 14th in Syracuse history with Tim Vesling (1985-87). He currently holds the Syracuse record for field goal accuracy (.805) and his 33 career field goals ranks seventh on the Syracuse career record list.

Syracuse will not play a home game in October. The only other season in which Syracuse did not have a home game in October was 1979, when Syracuse played every game away from home because the Carrier Dome was under construction.

Syracuse University Athletics

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