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Last time they played SYRACUSE 13 RUTGERS 10 NOV. 13, 2010
dave trotman-wilkins | staff photographer PRINCE-TYSON GULLEY (23) is one of multiple Syracuse players banged up going into the team’s Big East opener against Rutgers on Saturday. Head coach Doug Marrone closed practices to the media this week as the Orange dealt with the injuries.
Playing hurt Syracuse must overcome slew of injuries as it opens Big East play against Rutgers
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By Zach Brown STAFF WRITER
n his 19 years of coaching with seven different teams, Doug Marrone can think of just one season in which he had to deal with a worse injury situation than the one facing his Syracuse football team right now. As the offensive line coach for the New York Jets in 2005, Marrone watched the team’s top two quarterbacks suffer shoulder injuries just seven plays apart. That left the Jets with third-string quarterback Brooks Bollinger and 41-year-old Vinny Testaverde, signed once the injuries hit. “That’s very difficult,” Marrone said of that season. “We didn’t have a very good year. That was probably the only time that’s occurred.” This week, Marrone’s Orange (3-1) is dealing with multiple injuries to key players as it prepares to start Big East conference play with a game against Rutgers (2-1) on Saturday at noon in the Carrier Dome. The bumps and bruises have been piling up for SU since preseason camp, and the Orange faces a rough start to conference play if it doesn’t overcome the injury bug quickly. This week, Marrone chose to close the team’s practices and not allow players or assistant coaches to talk to the media. The injuries have
prevented the Orange from adding to their playbook this week and have affected how the team prepares for its conference opener. “It’s very difficult right now what we’re doing with the game plan,” Marrone said. “We’ll probably take some stuff out, and, unfortunately, it’s very difficult to add stuff. It kind of gets you in a little bit of a bind because if you don’t do enough, it can get ugly quick.” The defensive side of the ball has suffered most of the Orange’s injuries. Defensive end Chandler Jones has not played since the season opener against Wake Forest due to a lower body injury. Middle linebacker Marquis Spruill played sparingly against Toledo last weekend. And in the secondary, seemingly every player who’s seen action has suffered some kind of injury. Strong safety Shamarko Thomas did not play against the Rockets due to a lower body injury. The other three starters — Phillip Thomas, Kevyn Scott and Keon Lyn — all were hurt during preseason camp and have left games hurt this year for portions of time. Offensively, the biggest injury the media was made aware of was to running back PrinceTyson Gulley, who had a breakout performance against Toledo with 10 carries for 66 yards. “What’s more difficult in college than SEE RUTGERS PAGE 12
Anthony Perkins rolled his helmet across the Rutgers turf in front of the end zone. Syracuse was finally going bowling. In head coach Doug Marrone’s second season, he saw his vision come to fruition when Ross Krautman kicked a 24-yard field goal with 1:07 remaining in the fourth quarter. The field goal sealed a 13-10 SU victory over Rutgers in front of 49,911 at Rutgers Stadium in Piscataway, N.J., last season. The victory gave the Orange a 7-3 record and clinched the team’s first bowl berth since 2004. Krautman supplied SU with just enough points to get the win. The freshman kicker also drilled a career-long 48-yarder with 3:19 left in the third quarter to tie the game at 10-10. And a 66-yard drive late in the game placed Krautman directly in the spotlight. Krautman remained calm and cool to send the kick through the uprights. “I’m off on my own,” Krautman said to The Daily Orange on Nov. 13, 2010. Ryan Nassib was sacked six times as the Syracuse offense struggled to find the end zone. The Orange defense limited Rutgers to 280 yards on 73 plays and sacked RU quarterbacks Tom Savage and Chas Dodd twice apiece. Syracuse turned the ball over three times and RU lost the ball once. After the Scarlet Knights struggled to score in the first half, RU head coach Greg Schiano benched the freshman Dodd in favor of Savage in the second half. Savage supplied some energy, leading an eight-play, 85-yard drive to put Rutgers in front 10-7 in the third quarter. SU couldn’t put much together offensively, picking up just 242 yards prior to the gamewinning drive. And the Orange’s incompetence on offense was driving Marrone mad. “I kept thinking, ‘Why is this happening?’” Marrone said. “‘Why can’t we go out there and execute?’” In an ugly game, the specialists played a crucial role. SU punter Rob Long averaged 44 yards on his consistent line drive punts. Krautman made each of his two field goal attempts and Rutgers kicker San San Te was 1-of-3. Long explained that the important thing wasn’t drilling his punts deep, but limiting any possible negative outcomes. “It wasn’t about the punts this game,” Long said. “It was about not getting one blocked.” And the end result rested on the shoulders of Krautman, who delivered one of the season’s defining moments. Long knew how important Krautman’s kick and the victory were for the Orange. After Marrone spent months stressing the goal of attaining a winning season and a bowl berth, SU’s objective was finally met. Said Long: “Everybody knows what it means when he made that.” —Compiled by Andrew Tredinnick, asst. copy editor, adtredin@syr.edu