ORLANDO, Fla. — In a game that had everything from a muffed punt to blocked field goals to a pair of two-point conversions, it seemed fitting that quarterbacks Troy Nunes and R.J. Anderson split time. Again.

Anderson entered the game early in the fourth quarter after Nunes went to the sideline with a right hip injury. On a third-and-2 with SU leading, 31-27, Nunes ran right for 4 yards before getting knocked out of bounds and rolled on his side.

Nunes said afterward he thinks he got hit with a helmet in his hip.

‘I can walk,’ he said. ‘I just can’t turn to throw.’

SU head coach Paul Pasqualoni said after the game that he hadn’t yet talked to a trainer and was uncertain of the extent of Nunes’ injury.

‘I saw him on the sideline,’ Pasqualoni said, ‘and it didn’t appear to be real bad.’

Nunes was 13-of-18 passing for 199 yards. Anderson was 0-for-1 passing and rushed for 4 yards. Nunes replaced Anderson at starter before last week’s 45-14 win over Rutgers.

Several grounded

Five SU players did not travel with the team to Orlando.

Receiver Jamel Riddle, backup running back Barry Baker, backup cornerback Jeremiah Mason, backup linebacker Cory Brooks and junior fullback Darryl Kennedy all stayed home.

Riddle’s absence was ‘a coach’s decision,’ according to an SU spokesperson. Riddle, who has a team-best 494 receiving yards and four touchdowns this season, attended a Syracuse men’s basketball scrimmage at Manley Field House on Saturday afternoon.

Riddle regularly returns punts and was replaced Saturday night by true freshman Rashard Williams.

Extra Shafer

After kicker Collin Barber had an extra point blocked early in the third quarter, Pasqualoni turned to Mike Shafer to kick extra points for the rest of the game.

Shafer, a senior, hit both extra points he attempted. Before having his extra point blocked, Barber had converted a 25-yard field goal and an extra point. Since last year, Shafer has been relegated to punting and kicking off.

‘Mike’s been kicking real good,’ Pasqualoni said. ‘I though Collin could’ve gotten underneath (the blocked extra point) more. Mike has been getting real good trajectory on the balls, so we put Mike in to get the ball in the air.’

For the season, Barber, a sophomore, has hit 6 of 12 field goals and 29 of 31 extra points.

Record smashers

Central Florida set a slew of school records Saturday night.

Quarterback Ryan Schneider threw for 440 yards, breaking a record set by Daunte Culpepper — now with the National Football League’s Minnesota Vikings — against Louisiana-Lafayette in 1998.

Receiver Doug Gabriel broke an 18-year-old school record with 324 all-purpose yards. Also, Gabriel and fellow wideout Jimmy Fryzel combined for a school-record 356 receiving yards.

Central Florida’s 539 yards of total offense was a season high, and the 18-point blown lead was the second-largest in school history.

This and that

Syracuse and Central Florida combined for 935 yards of total offense. … SU cornerback Steve Gregory was back returning kickoffs after receiver Johnnie Morant dabbled in those duties last week. … Linebacker Jameel Dumas and offensive tackle Adam Terry returned after missing last week’s game with a sprained left ankle and concussion, respectively. … Offensive lineman Jason Greene came in for one play when Matt Tarullo went to the sideline with an injury. … Gametime temperature in Orlando: 72 degrees; in Syracuse: 34 degrees. … After every UCF score, a cannon was shot off in the north end zone. The boom was so loud it shook the glass press-box windows.

Published on November 3, 2002 at 12:00 pm