‘Disrespected’ Williams bursts for career night
The disrespect stung Mike Williams.
Leading up to Saturday’s game against Northwestern, the Syracuse wide receiver had been the recipient of some harsh criticism from head coach Doug Marrone.
‘He told me in the middle of the week that I’m not being the receiver that I need to be, and did I lose it, or am I out of it,’ Williams said. ‘I kind of took that as disrespect and tried to come out and have a good game.’
Did he ever.
Williams tore apart Northwestern’s secondary to the tune of 11 catches, 209 yards and two touchdowns (all career-highs) in Syracuse’s 37-34 win over the Wildcats Saturday night at the Carrier Dome. In addition, his second touchdown catch with 6:07 remaining tied the game at 34-34 and helped set the stage for the Orange’s win.
‘I guess I was just in the game,’ Williams said. ‘I let the game come to me, instead of like the last two games where I tried to rush everything and cut my routes a little shorter. Coaches got on me for that.’
Williams also took advantage of Northwestern corner Demetrius Dugar, who was left in single coverage for most of the game. Williams said there were some instances of double or triple coverage, but the rest was man-to-man.
On his first touchdown, William streaked behind the secondary and hauled in a 66-yard pass on a play-action fake to give SU a 17-0 lead with 1:17 to go in the first quarter. Later in the game, with Syracuse trailing 34-27 in the fourth quarter, quarterback Greg Paulus found Williams on a 13-yard pass in the end zone to tie the game.
‘He is a big-time receiver, and he makes my life a lot easier,’ Paulus said. ‘If I put the ball up, he’ll go get it. He’s a big-time player who makes big-time plays.’
PAULUS SHINES
Paulus’ evaluation of his own performance in Syracuse’s 37-34 win over Northwestern had nothing to do with his individual statistics.
‘We won. So that’s how I judge myself, and I know how that’s how quarterbacks are judged,’ Paulus said. ‘As long as we win, I will go back to film. I know I made a bunch of mistakes. I will correct that just like I have been correcting each week and I will keep getting better, hopefully.’
When his statistics are taken into account, though, it’s easy to see that Syracuse could not have won without Paulus’ best performance of the season. Paulus completed 24-of-35 passes for 346 yards and two touchdowns, along with a rushing score. He led the Orange on a game-tying drive late in the fourth quarter, moving the team into field goal range for Ryan Lichtenstein’s game-winning kick.
After struggling against Penn State last weekend, Paulus seemed more comfortable against the Wildcats. He scrambled in the pocket and found open receivers in the flat and down the field. Though he had kept most of his passes to short routes in the first two games, Paulus established a connection Saturday with Williams that stretched the field.
‘We were in a good rhythm offensively,’ Paulus said. ‘…The way (we) were running the ball, our line did a great job. Our O-line did an absolutely great job. I just want to stress how important they were to giving me time, and the way we ran the ball. They were phenomenal tonight.’
THIS AND THAT
Delone Carter became the 39th Syracuse back to rush for 1,000 yards with a 13-yard run in the first quarter Saturday. …Syracuse’s 80-yard touchdown drive in the first quarter was its longest scoring drive of the year. …Defensive back Shamarko Thomas had a career-high seven tackles. …Linebacker Doug Hogue had a career high 11 tackles. …Max Suter’s interception was the first of his career.
