2007 Syracuse Orange football team explained

Sport:football
Year:2007
Team:Syracuse Orange
Conference:Big East Conference
Conference Link:Big East Conference (1979–2013)
Short Conf:Big East
Record:2–10
Conf Record:1–6
Hc Year:3rd
Off Coach:Brian White
Oc Year:2nd
Dc Year:1st as DC, 3rd overall

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.

Schedule

[1]

Game summaries

Washington

See also: 2007 Washington Huskies football team.

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

See also: 2007 Iowa Hawkeyes football team.

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. Behind a strong defensive performance, the Hawkeyes shut out the Syracuse Orange 35-0 at Kinnick Stadium. Rebounding from a shaky performance against Northern Illinois, Christensen threw for 278 yards and four touchdowns, three of them to tight end Tony Moeaki. 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.

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. 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. On special teams, Kenny Iwebema blocked two field goals to help preserve the worst loss for Syracuse coach Greg Robinson in his tenure with the Orange. The 35-point loss was Syracuse's most-lopsided since a 51–14 loss to Georgia Tech in the 2004 Champs Sports Bowl. After the game, Syracuse running back Curtis Brinkley said:

Illinois

See also: 2007 Illinois Fighting Illini football team.

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

See also: 2007 Louisville Cardinals football team.

Syracuse delivered its first win of the 2007 season on the road in Louisville. The Orange upset the

  1. 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)

See also: 2007 Miami RedHawks football team.

West Virginia

See also: 2007 West Virginia Mountaineers football team.

Rutgers

See also: Rutgers Scarlet Knights football.

Buffalo

See also: 2007 Buffalo Bulls football team.

Pittsburgh

See also: Pittsburgh Panthers football.

South Florida

See also: 2007 South Florida Bulls football team.

Connecticut

See also: 2007 Connecticut Huskies football team.

Cincinnati

See also: 2007 Cincinnati Bearcats football team.

Rankings

See also: 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings.

Coaching staff

Statistics

Team

TeamOpp
Scoring197418
  Points per Game16.434.8
First Downs181287
  Rushing58122
  Passing112146
  Penalty1119
Total Offense35035625
  Avg per Play4.66.2
  Avg per Game291.9468.8
Fumbles-Lost24-1011-5
Penalties-Yards85-707109-885
  Avg per Game58.973.8
Team Opp
Punts-Yards80-335652-2025
  Avg per Punt42.038.9
Time of Possession/Game27:3132:29
3rd Down Conversions46/164 28%82/174 47%
4th Down Conversions7/18 39%6/13 46%
Touchdowns Scored2453
Field Goals-Attempts10-14 71%16-22 73%
PAT-Attempts23-24 96%52-53 98%
Attendance245,064199,681
  Games/Avg per Game7/35,0095/39,936

Scores by quarter

Offense

Rushing

NameGP-GSAttGainLossNetAvgTDLongAvg/G
Curtis Brinkley8-8111416453713.322946.4
Doug Hogue9-477275242513.312027.9
Paul Chiara12-021972954.51227.9
Jeremy Sellers12-021501492.3194.1
Max Suter12-19424384.20123.2
Derrell Smith12-010286222.2081.8
Taj Smith12-125160163.2071.3
Tony Fiammetta11-838082.7040.7
John Barker12-013033.0030.2
Cameron Dantley8-1131235-23-1.806-2.9
TEAM9-09038-38-4.200-4.2
Andrew Robinson11-1195273312-39-0.4018-3.5
Total1237512204677532.052962.8
Opponents12515268719324944.83075207.8

Passing

NameGP-GSEfficAtt-Cmp-IntPctYdsTDLngAvg/G
Andrew Robinson11-11125.69154-292-752.721921379199.3
Cameron Dantley8-1117.0848-90-353.355855669.8
TEAM9-00.000-1-00.00000.0
Total12123.34202-383-1052.727501879229.2
Opponents12147.07267-393-967.931312063260.9

Receiving

NameGP-GSNo.YdsAvgTDLongAvg/G
Mike Williams12-126083713.9106169.8
Taj Smith12-124482218.757968.5
Jawad Nesheiwat12-101727015.924822.5
Rice Moss12-11315011.502012.5
Paul Chiara12-012937.80207.8
Tony Fiammetta11-812756.20156.8
Curtis Brinkley8-8914916.606218.6
Da'Mon Merkerson10-1810112.614210.1
Lavar Lobdell12-088610.80147.2
Mike Owen12-355110.20184.2
Dan Sheeran12-14246.00132.0
Doug Hogue9-433110.30193.4
Jeremy Sellers12-023115.50272.6
Arthur Kapalanga11-02157.50101.4
Derrell Smith12-0284.0090.7
Kyle Bell2-0177.0073.5
Total12202275013.61879229.2
Opponents12267313111.72063260.9

Defense Leaders

Note: This list includes only a select number of defensive leaders. For the complete list, click http://suathletics.com/Sports/Football/2007/2007fbstats.asp

NameGP-GSTacklesSacksPass DefenseInterceptionsFumblesBlkd
Kick
SoloAstTotalTFL-YdsNo-YdsBrUpQBHNo.-YdsAvgTDLongRcv-YdsFF
Joe Fields12-125344972.5-40.0-0214-6215.50351-000
Jake Flaherty12-124550956.5-261.0-6000-00.0000-000
Jameel McClain12-123938776.0-241.5-12341-3838.00381-021
Mike Holmes12-84024642.0-30.0-0200-00.0000-000
Arthur Jones11-1132195117.5-431.0-4000-00.0000-001
Total1255638794363-1979-652189-21323.70525-284
Opponents1245828274087-41154-324412510-11411.424910-16123

Special teams

NamePuntingKickoffs
No.YdsAvgLongTBFCI20BlkdNo.YdsAvgTBOB
Rob Long75313941.973822210----------
John Barker421754.2711030----------
TEAM100.000001----------
Patrick Shadle----------------44248456.501
Total80335642.07392224144248456.501
Opponents52202538.96332022078483562.051
NamePunt ReturnsKick Returns
No.YdsAvgTDLongNo.YdsAvgTDLong
Max Suter----------51129925.5193
Mike Holmes----------1435225.1064
Bruce Williams5132.6011----------
Randy McKinnon----------35418.0023
Ryan Howard33210.7013144.004
Paul Chiara210.501----------
Total10464.601369170924.8193
Opponents3343013.00534190622.1064

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Schedule . 2019-08-28 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110727062404/http://suathletics.com/schedules.asp?path=football&year=2007%7CFootball . 2011-07-27 . dead .
  2. http://suathletics.com/Sports/Football/2007/RobinsonPostGame083107.asp SU Athletics - Head Coach Greg Robinson's Post Game Press Conference
  3. http://suathletics.com/Sports/Football/2007/grobinsonquotes091507.asp SU Athletics – Head Coach Greg Robinson Quotes