Chris Davis looked comfortable.

Wearing a loose-fitting warm-up suit and black, corduroy house slippers, Davis beamed as he reflected on the Syracuse football team’s second win of the season, a 45-14 drubbing of Rutgers before an announced crowd of 37,158 at the Carrier Dome on Saturday.

“A lot of things went our way,” said Davis, a fullback. “And today did take us back to last year.”

Indeed, the Orangemen played the way they did in last season’s 10-3 run.

Though 300 days had passed since the Orangemen last beat a Division I-A opponent — a 26-3 win over Kansas State in the Insight.com Bowl last Dec. 29 — they looked comfortable playing a style that fits them as snuggly as Davis’ slippers: force turnovers, hold onto the ball, win on defense.

Syracuse (2-6, 1-3 Big East) made a season-high eight sacks, recovered four fumbles, intercepted a pass and returned a blocked punt for a touchdown against Rutgers (1-7, 0-4). Three of SU’s six scoring drives started inside the Rutgers 30-yard line because of RU turnovers.

“Today, we just came out and played a hell of a game,” said linebacker Rich Scanlon, who recorded six tackles and three sacks. “The things that happened to us today definitely happened last year. The defense should play this way every single game.”

Last year, for the most part, it did. The 2001 SU defense forced 30 turnovers and ranked seventh in the nation with a plus-1.25 turnover margin. Coming into the Rutgers game, SU was ranked below the top 100 in the nation for rushing defense and total defense.

But the defense Saturday got help from quarterback Troy Nunes, who started for the first time since the fifth game of last season. Nunes was 13-of-23 passing for 117 yards and two touchdowns. More important, he had no turnovers and just one minus-yards play, on which he was sacked.

“He really took care of the ball,” said SU head coach Paul Pasqualoni, who added that Nunes will start Saturday at Central Florida. “We said to him, ‘No turnovers, no minus-yards plays.’ ”

In the second quarter, Nunes lobbed a perfect pass to receiver Jamel Riddle, who let the ball nestle into his outstretched arms and waltzed into the end zone. That put SU up, 14-7, a lead it never relinquished.

“Troy played lights-out today,” tight end Joe Donnelly said. “Right off the bat, we really came out to play. In other games, we didn’t come out with the emotion we needed. It’s really that first first down that always eludes us.”

SU got a first down on its first offensive play, a 13-yard pass to Davis. Though that opening drive ended with a Collin Barber field goal attempt blocked by Nathan Jones and returned for a touchdown by Brandon Haw, the SU offense quickly recovered. The Orangemen had five scoring drives of six plays or fewer and racked up 289 rushing yards to RU’s 16.

“I think the whole offense came in very confident,” said running back Walter Reyes, who rushed for 115 yards and two touchdowns, including a 79-yarder. “Oh man, it feels so good to get a win.”

Even cornerback Will Hunter, who last week questioned his teammates’ heart, was impressed with the Orangemen’s time-warp effort which, at least for Saturday, brought back memories of SU’s magical 2001 season.

“I’m just in awe right now,” Hunter said. “It’s exciting to go out and play the way we expect to play, the way we should’ve been playing all along. (Forcing turnovers and holding onto the ball) is the way for us to get some wins.

“Just as far as momentum goes, this is the biggest win. There’s only one way to go — up.”

Published on October 27, 2002 at 12:00 pm