Now, between the Syracuse football record book’s glorious pages lays a black mark. Fans won’t soon forget this year’s 4-8 record, SU’s first losing season since 1986. And, clearly, neither will the players.

“Ending the streak of winning seasons,” senior quarterback Troy Nunes said with a sigh, “it’s just something your name’s gonna be on.”

“We know that we’re a better football team than this,” tight end Joe Donnelly said, a bit more enthusiastically. “For me, and a lot of guys on this team, we’re hungry now.”

If Donnelly, who figures to be a captain next year, and the Orangemen want things to change, they’d better take a look at what went wrong in a year that was, for the most part, a failure.

***

Quarterbacks

OK, we were wrong.

In The Daily Orange’s SU football preview, we put R.J. Anderson on our cover and said he’d come out “ready to fire.” Instead, the junior shot blanks. As the starter, Anderson led the Orangemen to a 1-6 start, completing 43 percent of his passes.

Nunes spelled his struggling counterpart and helped SU close the season 3-2. If Anderson can learn something from Nunes — who completed 57 percent of his passes and averaged nearly 200 yards passing in his last five games — it’s that mere serviceability won’t suffice next year, especially if the SU defense gives up 34 points a game again.

Grade: C-

***

Running backs

In the spring, projected starter Diamond Ferri – already suspended for spring practices – decided to sit out a year and attend community college near his home in Everett, Mass. But Walter Reyes and Damien Rhodes turned an uncertain position into SU’s lone offensive bright spot.

Reyes and Rhodes split time early, but Reyes, a sophomore, emerged as the starter. He rushed for 1,135 yards — the fourth-highest single-season total in SU history — and had a school record 17 touchdowns. In the season opener at Brigham Young, Rhodes posted the best Syracuse rushing debut since 1964. He finished the season with 568 yards and seven touchdowns.

If Ferri returns, he’ll probably be a third-stringer, and rightfully so.

Running backs: A-

***

Wide receivers

When is Johnnie Morant going to get it?

After racking up 409 yards and two touchdowns last season, Morant, the No. 3-rated receiver in the nation coming out of high school, had just 327 yards and zero touchdowns this year.

The junior continued his penchant for dropping passes. What’s worse, he was suspended for three games after punching lacrosse player Mike Springer in April. Morant’s been suspended eight games in three seasons.

Jamel Riddle and David Tyree picked up the slack, combining for 1,185 yards and eight touchdowns.

Riddle’s back, Tyree isn’t. Morant has another year. Tick. Tick. Tick.

Grade: C+

***

Offensive line

Give the young group credit for Reyes’ and Rhodes’ success. Since struggling early, the front five ended the season with 28 sacks allowed.

In a 50-42 upset of Virginia Tech on Nov. 9, the Orangemen rushed for 201 yards against a Hokie rushing defense that led the Big East, surrendering half that per game. After SU’s season-ending loss to Miami, Reyes credited the line for helping him to a historic season.

The line played adequately, but it’ll have to play better next season, when the Orangemen figure to rely more on the run with Anderson, an ineffective passer.

Grade: C+

***

Defensive line

Other than Louis Gachelin, this once-feared unit played horribly.

Gachelin, a tackle, had 8.5 of the Orangemen’s 26 sacks. Last season, Syracuse, led by Dwight Freeney, had 40. Though he battled a foot injury this year, end Josh Thomas failed to do his part, finishing with just three sacks. Tackle Christian Ferrara played even worse – he had no sacks.

The line’s inability to rush opposing quarterbacks exposed an already weakened defensive backfield. In three losses where SU allowed more than 300 passing yards, SU had four combined sacks.

Grade: D

***

Linebackers

Sure, Clifton Smith won’t admit it, but he’s got to be glad his SU career is over. This season, Smith was the only SU defender who displayed fundamental tackling skills, at least according to the statistics.

Smith had a Big East-leading 136 tackles, while Jameel Dumas, the Orangemen’s next-highest tackler, had 91. SU’s third linebacker, Rich Scanlon, had 60.

Next year, Smith will likely be on an NFL roster, raking in cash. Dumas and Scanlon, the Orangemen’s returning linebackers, will try to get that whole tackling thing down.

Grade: D+

***

Defensive backs

Hey, remember the O-Head?

Cornerbacks Will Hunter and Jeremiah Mason performed the dance after big plays last year. This season, the pair didn’t pirouette or shake their shoulders or throw their elbows, as the secondary lost its rhythm.

The disastrous recipe started with a new coach (Tim Walton) for the fifth time in as many years. Throw in injuries to safeties Keeon Walker and Maurice McClain and add Hunter and fellow cornerback Latroy Oliver’s inability to stick with many Big East receivers, and you’ve got an abysmal pass defense, one that surrendered 303.8 yards per game.

Grade: F

***

Special teams

Save Collin Barber’s inconsistency (11 of 20 on field goals), the Orangemen played typically well on special teams.

Jamel Riddle again proved an exciting punt returner. Cornerback Steve Gregory, who blocked three kicks, and Tyree were the unit’s stars. Chris White, SU’s tight ends and special teams coach, deserves much credit for running incentive-laden practices, where rewards for stellar performances included T-shirts.

Barber struggled with an injury to his left plant foot, which threw off his alignment. In one of the season’s most shocking and memorable moments, he clanked an extra point off the left upright in SU’s 17-16 loss at Temple.

Grade: B

***

Coaching

Jake Crouthamel, Syracuse’s athletics director, was correct in securing head coach Paul Pasqualoni’s job. There’s no way Pasqualoni — who had never had a losing season at SU and graduates 79 percent of his players — should be fired after one awful year.

But, in the offseason, Pasqualoni should do something he didn’t do publicly all season — hold his staff accountable.

Defensive coordinator Chris Rippon needs to cater his scheme to his unit’s minimal talent level. Walton, the defensive backs coach, needs to do something different. Running backs coach David Walker is a keeper, though he’ll probably get a head coaching job within five years. White, the tight ends and special teams coach, is one of SU’s best recruiters, a charismatic 35-year-old who players can relate to.

Let’s be honest. Pasqualoni has missed a bowl two of the last three seasons. Crouthamel doesn’t fire coaches, but when he retires, which will likely come sooner rather than later, bet on the new athletics director finding some younger blood.

Grade: D

Cumulative GPA: 1.81

Darryl Slater is an assistant sports editor at The Daily Orange, where his columns appear regularly. E-mail him at dpslater@syr.edu.

Published on December 3, 2002 at 12:00 pm