2007 Syracuse Orange football team

2007 Syracuse Orange football
Conference Big East Conference (1979–2013)
2007 record 2-10 (1-6 Big East)
Head coach Greg Robinson
Offensive coordinator Mitch Browning
Defensive coordinator Derrick Jackson
Home stadium Carrier Dome (c. 49,262, Field Turf)
2007 Big East football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
#6 West Virginia †§   5 – 2         11 – 2  
#25 Connecticut §   5 – 2         9 – 4  
#17 Cincinnati   4 – 3         10 – 3  
South Florida   4 – 3         9 – 4  
Rutgers   3 – 4         8 – 5  
Louisville   3 – 4         6 – 6  
Pittsburgh   3 – 4         5 – 7  
Syracuse   1 – 6         2 – 10  
† – BCS representative as conference champion
§ – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2007 Syracuse Orange football team competed in football on behalf of Syracuse University during the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Orange were coached by Greg Robinson and played their home games at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York.

Before the season

Recruiting

See {{College Athlete Recruit Start}}

Schedule

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result Attendance
August 31 8:00 PM Washington* Carrier Dome • Syracuse, New York ESPN L 42–12   40,329
September 8 8:00 PM at Iowa* Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, Iowa BTN L 35–0   70,585
September 15 12:00 PM Illinois* Carrier Dome • Syracuse, NY ESPNU L 41–20   34,188
September 22 12:00 PM at #19 Louisville Papa John's Cardinal Stadium • Louisville, Kentucky ESPN+ W 38–35   40,922
September 29 3:00 PM at Miami (OH)* Yager Stadium • Oxford, Ohio ONN L 17–14   16,800
October 6 12:00 PM #12 West Virginia Carrier Dome • Syracuse, NY ESPN+ L 55–14   35,345
October 13 12:00 PM Rutgers Carrier Dome • Syracuse, NY ESPN+ L 38–14   36,226
October 20 4:00 PM Buffalo* Carrier Dome • Syracuse, NY ESPNU W 20–12   30,897
November 3 12:00 PM at Pittsburgh Heinz Field • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ESPN+ L 20–17   31,374
November 10 12:00 PM South Florida Carrier Dome • Syracuse, NY ESPN+ L 41–10   38,039
November 17 12:00 PM at Connecticut Rentschler Field • East Hartford, Connecticut ESPN2 L 30–7   40,000
November 24 7:15 PM Cincinnati Carrier Dome • Syracuse, NY ESPNU L 52–31   30,040
*Non-conference game. daggerHomecoming. #Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

[1]

Game notes

Washington

1 2 3 4 Total
Huskies 0 14 21 7 42
Orange 3 3 0 6 12

Syracuse opened the 2007 season with a 42-14 loss to Washington in the Carrier Dome. The Orange began the game with a field goal and managed to hold the Huskies at bay for their first two drives. However, after back-to-back three-and-outs, Washington responded with two touchdown drives of 80 yards apiece. The Huskies scored on each of their three drives in the third quarter to take a 35-6 lead into the fourth quarter.

Freshman quarterback Andrew Robinson registered 199 yards in his first career start on 20-of-32 passing. Robinson was also sacked seven times. Washington was led on the ground by Louis Rankin. The senior ran for 152 yards on 17 carries. Rankin scored three touchdowns, including a 47-yard run on the opening drive of the third quarter. Huskies quarterback Jake Locker completed 14-of-19 passes for 142 yards. He also ran for two touchdowns in the win. Washington outgained Syracuse 302-8 on the ground.

"We went on defense and had a chance to make a four or five-yard loss on a run and we missed the tackle," said Orange head coach Greg Robinson after the game. "We had the tackle, but we didn't secure it and let the guy out the backside and that's just the discipline of the defense not having backside containment to let that guy out the backdoor. Really I thought for a period of time we kept shooting ourselves in the foot on both sides of the ball. I give credit to Washington. They did a good job." [2]

Iowa

1 2 3 4 Total
Orange 0 0 0 0 0
Hawkeyes 14 14 7 0 35

Syracuse and Iowa met in a rematch of the 2006 thriller in the Carrier Dome. The Orange fell 20-13 in double overtime to the Hawkeyes, after the 'Cuse couldn't score on seven attempts from inside the two-yard line.

The 2007 meeting between the two teams was the exact opposite of the 2006 matchup. Syracuse fell to Iowa 35-0. After a punt on their opening drive, the Hawkeyes scored three consecutive touchdowns, two on passes of more than 30 yards. Iowa quarterback Jake Christensen connected with Tony Moeaki on a 52-yard touchdown pass to give the Hawkeyes a 7-0 lead. Christensen found running back Albert Young for a 36-yard touchdown reception a drive later, after Iowa picked off Syracuse in its own half of the field.

Syracuse's scoring chances were limited to two field goal attempts. Orange kicker Patrick Shadle had a 38 and a 39 yard attempt blocked in the loss.

The one bright spot for the 'Cuse came on the defensive end. Despite giving up 35 points in the defeat, Syracuse caught two interceptions and forced on fumble. The first interception came late in the first half off a pass from Christensen.

Illinois

1 2 3 4 Total
Fighting Illini 14 3 17 7 41
Orange 0 0 10 10 20

Syracuse's second straight Big Ten opponent came when the 'Cuse met Illinois. The Orange had defeated the Illini a year before, 31-21 in Champaign. Much like the previous week in Iowa, Syracuse struggled to stop the Illinois offense. The Illini opened the game with a 70-yard drive for a touchdown. Illinois scored after six plays, the last a 22-yard touchdown pass from Juice Williams to tight end Jeff Cumberland. The Illini scored later in the first quarter on a 2-yard run by Rashard Mendenhall.

Mendenhall wasn't through there. He ran for two more touchdowns in the win, including a 50-yard run late in the third quarter. Mendenhall totaled 150 yards on 16 carries and finished with 3 touchdowns.

Offensively for Syracuse, the Orange started out slow. Syracuse didn't record a first down until the second quarter and didn't break through until the third quarter when kicker Patrick Shadle kicked for a 44-yard field goal. Syracuse scored a touchdown later in the third off a 2-yard run by Jeremy Sellers.

The offensive improvements were outdone by Iowa. The Hawkeyes finished the game with scores of their last five possessions. Three of those drive resulted in touchdowns.

"Obviously, I’m frustrated and I want to keep working and getting better," said Syracuse head coach Greg Robinson after the game. "There were some things in that game that we can still grow from and obviously we’re a team that is a work-in-progress, big time. I thought there were some things that were encouraging – especially on offensive side of the ball. I saw a couple of things on defense from a couple of young players and we’ll see what happens."[3]

Louisville

1 2 3 4 Total
Orange 7 14 10 7 38
Cardinals 0 7 7 21 35

Syracuse delivered its first win of the 2007 season on the road in Louisville. The Orange upset the #18/19 Cardinals 38-35, thanks to an incredible offensive performance. Freshman quarterback Andrew Robinson set the pace of the game early when he connected with wide receiver Taj Smith for a 79-yard touchdown reception on the first play.

The scoring halted until the second quarter when Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm completed a 4-yard touchdown pass to Scott Kuhn. On the ensuing kickoff, Syracuse's Max Suter broke a tackle and sprinted for a 93-yard touchdown return, the first since Kevin Johnson returned a kick for 100 yards against Miami in 1998.

Miami (OH)

1 2 3 4 Total
Orange 0 0 7 7 14
RedHawks 0 14 0 3 17


West Virginia

1 2 3 4 Total
Mountaineers 14 17 10 14 55
Orange 7 0 7 0 14


Rutgers

1 2 3 4 Total
Scarlet Knights 7 17 0 14 38
Orange 14 0 0 0 14


Buffalo

1 2 3 4 Total
Bulls 3 0 3 6 12
Orange 3 14 0 3 20


Pittsburgh

1 2 3 4 Total
Orange 0 3 7 7 17
Panthers 0 10 0 10 20


South Florida

1 2 3 4 Total
Bulls 7 13 21 0 41
Orange 0 3 7 0 10


Connecticut

1 2 3 4 Total
Orange 0 0 0 7 7
Huskies 14 7 3 6 30


Cincinnati

1 2 3 4 Total
Bearcats 14 14 14 10 52
Orange 3 14 14 0 31


Rankings

Ranking Movement
Poll Pre Wk 1 Wk 2 Wk 3 Wk 4 Wk 5 Wk 6 Wk 7 Wk 8 Wk 9 Wk 10 Wk 11 Wk 12 Wk 13 Wk 14 Final
AP -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Coaches -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Harris Not released -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
BCS Not released -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Coaching staff

Statistics

Team

Team Opp
Scoring 197 418
  Points per Game 16.4 34.8
First Downs 181 287
  Rushing 58 122
  Passing 112 146
  Penalty 11 19
Total Offense 3503 5625
  Avg per Play 4.6 6.2
  Avg per Game 291.9 468.8
Fumbles-Lost 24-10 11-5
Penalties-Yards 85-707 109-885
  Avg per Game 58.9 73.8
Team Opp
Punts-Yards 80-3356 52-2025
  Avg per Punt 42.0 38.9
Time of Possession/Game 27:31 32:29
3rd Down Conversions 46/164 28% 82/174 47%
4th Down Conversions 7/18 39% 6/13 46%
Touchdowns Scored 24 53
Field Goals-Attempts 10-14 71% 16-22 73%
PAT-Attempts 23-24 96% 52-53 98%
Attendance 245,064 199,681
  Games/Avg per Game 7/35,009 5/39,936

Scores by quarter

1 2 3 4 Total
Syracuse 37 51 62 47 197
Opponents 87 130 103 98 418

Offense

Rushing

Name GP-GS Att Gain Loss Net Avg TD Long Avg/G
Curtis Brinkley 8-8 111 416 45 371 3.3 2 29 46.4
Doug Hogue 9-4 77 275 24 251 3.3 1 20 27.9
Paul Chiara 12-0 21 97 2 95 4.5 1 22 7.9
Jeremy Sellers 12-0 21 50 1 49 2.3 1 9 4.1
Max Suter 12-1 9 42 4 38 4.2 0 12 3.2
Derrell Smith 12-0 10 28 6 22 2.2 0 8 1.8
Taj Smith 12-12 5 16 0 16 3.2 0 7 1.3
Tony Fiammetta 11-8 3 8 0 8 2.7 0 4 0.7
John Barker 12-0 1 3 0 3 3.0 0 3 0.2
Cameron Dantley 8-1 13 12 35 -23 -1.8 0 6 -2.9
TEAM 9-0 9 0 38 -38 -4.2 0 0 -4.2
Andrew Robinson 11-11 95 273 312 -39 -0.4 0 18 -3.5
Total 12 375 1220 467 753 2.0 5 29 62.8
Opponents 12 515 2687 193 2494 4.8 30 75 207.8

Passing

Name GP-GS Effic Att-Cmp-Int Pct Yds TD Lng Avg/G
Andrew Robinson 11-11 125.69 154-292-7 52.7 2192 13 79 199.3
Cameron Dantley 8-1 117.08 48-90-3 53.3 558 5 56 69.8
TEAM 9-0 0.00 0-1-0 0.0 0 0 0 0.0
Total 12 123.34 202-383-10 52.7 2750 18 79 229.2
Opponents 12 147.07 267-393-9 67.9 3131 20 63 260.9

Receiving

Name GP-GS No. Yds Avg TD Long Avg/G
Mike Williams 12-12 60 837 13.9 10 61 69.8
Taj Smith 12-12 44 822 18.7 5 79 68.5
Jawad Nesheiwat 12-10 17 270 15.9 2 48 22.5
Rice Moss 12-1 13 150 11.5 0 20 12.5
Paul Chiara 12-0 12 93 7.8 0 20 7.8
Tony Fiammetta 11-8 12 75 6.2 0 15 6.8
Curtis Brinkley 8-8 9 149 16.6 0 62 18.6
Da'Mon Merkerson 10-1 8 101 12.6 1 42 10.1
Lavar Lobdell 12-0 8 86 10.8 0 14 7.2
Mike Owen 12-3 5 51 10.2 0 18 4.2
Dan Sheeran 12-1 4 24 6.0 0 13 2.0
Doug Hogue 9-4 3 31 10.3 0 19 3.4
Jeremy Sellers 12-0 2 31 15.5 0 27 2.6
Arthur Kapalanga 11-0 2 15 7.5 0 10 1.4
Derrell Smith 12-0 2 8 4.0 0 9 0.7
Kyle Bell 2-0 1 7 7.0 0 7 3.5
Total 12 202 2750 13.6 18 79 229.2
Opponents 12 267 3131 11.7 20 63 260.9

Defense Leaders

Note: This list includes only a select number of defensive leaders. For the complete list, click

Name GP-GS Tackles Sacks Pass Defense Interceptions Fumbles Blkd
Kick
Solo Ast Total TFL-Yds No-Yds BrUp QBH No.-Yds Avg TD Long Rcv-Yds FF
Joe Fields 12-12 53 44 97 2.5-4 0.0-0 2 1 4-62 15.5 0 35 1-0 0 0
Jake Flaherty 12-12 45 50 95 6.5-26 1.0-6 0 0 0-0 0.0 0 0 0-0 0 0
Jameel McClain 12-12 39 38 77 6.0-24 1.5-12 3 4 1-38 38.0 0 38 1-0 2 1
Mike Holmes 12-8 40 24 64 2.0-3 0.0-0 2 0 0-0 0.0 0 0 0-0 0 0
Arthur Jones 11-11 32 19 51 17.5-43 1.0-4 0 0 0-0 0.0 0 0 0-0 0 1
Total 12 556 387 943 63-197 9-65 21 8 9-213 23.7 0 52 5-2 8 4
Opponents 12 458 282 740 87-411 54-324 41 25 10-114 11.4 2 49 10-16 12 3

Special teams

Name Punting Kickoffs
No. Yds Avg Long TB FC I20 Blkd No. Yds Avg TB OB
Rob Long 75 3139 41.9 73 8 22 21 0 -- -- -- -- --
John Barker 4 217 54.2 71 1 0 3 0 -- -- -- -- --
TEAM 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 1 -- -- -- -- --
Patrick Shadle -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 44 2484 56.5 0 1
Total 80 3356 42.0 73 9 22 24 1 44 2484 56.5 0 1
Opponents 52 2025 38.9 63 3 20 22 0 78 4835 62.0 5 1
Name Punt Returns Kick Returns
No. Yds Avg TD Long No. Yds Avg TD Long
Max Suter -- -- -- -- -- 51 1299 25.5 1 93
Mike Holmes -- -- -- -- -- 14 352 25.1 0 64
Bruce Williams 5 13 2.6 0 11 -- -- -- -- --
Randy McKinnon -- -- -- -- -- 3 54 18.0 0 23
Ryan Howard 3 32 10.7 0 13 1 4 4.0 0 4
Paul Chiara 2 1 0.5 0 1 -- -- -- -- --
Total 10 46 4.6 0 13 69 1709 24.8 1 93
Opponents 33 430 13.0 0 53 41 906 22.1 0 64

References

  1. ↑ Schedule
  2. ↑ SU Athletics - Head Coach Greg Robinson's Post Game Press Conference
  3. ↑ SU Athletics - Head Coach Greg Robinson Quotes