Carter passes Little for 5th on SU’s all-time rushing list
Senior running back Delone Carter moved into fifth place on Syracuse’s career rushing list with his performance Saturday. Carter rushed for 107 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries, surpassing SU greats Dee Brown, David Walker and Floyd Little along the way.
He now has 2,724 yards in his SU career.
‘It is an honor, but I will recognize that and focus on that after the season,’ a dejected Carter said after Syracuse’s loss to Louisville.
Carter kept the Orange afloat for the majority of the game, allowing the Orange to move the ball down the field in the early going, gaining 78 yards in the first half alone. Once Louisville focused on shutting him down in the second, he was limited to just 29 yards on seven carries.
The performance gave Carter his 10th 100-yard rushing game of his career. He is currently ninth on SU’s career rushing touchdown list with 22 and is tied for 12th in total touchdowns.
SU remains winless at home in Big East
With SU’s loss Saturday, the Orange finds itself still searching for that elusive first home victory in the conference. Its three wins in the Big East — against South Florida, West Virginia and Cincinnati — all came on the road.
Though the Orange is a league-best 3-0 on the road in conference, it’s one of just two teams still winless on its own field in Big East play. In each of the past two games, the SU offense was able to make plays and overcome its mistakes.
That wasn’t the case Saturday.
‘The past couple of games, we’ve been on the winning end in taking advantage of mistakes,’ SU head coach Doug Marrone said. ‘And this time, we weren’t able to overcome it, which is why we’re on the losing end of this score.’
Saturday’s loss to Louisville makes this weekend’s road game at Rutgers that much more important. With seven teams (including Syracuse) tied in the loss column in the Big East standings, a loss could send SU free-falling in the standings.
And though SU has looked impressive on the road thus far, that doesn’t necessarily mean beating Rutgers in Piscataway, N.J., is a foregone conclusion.
‘Like I just told the players and told them at the beginning of the year, this is going to be a difficult season, we’re going to have to fight and scratch,’ Marrone said. ‘Nothing comes easy in this game.’
Too much bowl talk?
With so much talk about the Orange potentially clinching bowl eligibility against Louisville prior to Saturday’s game, defensive tackle Andrew Lewis said the Orange needs to forget about that and focus on the game that lies ahead.
‘We need to go out there and beat our next opponent and focus less on achieving a bowl bid,’ he said.
Marrone prepares his team the same each week, he said. Despite the expectations that have evolved due to SU’s quick start, he wasn’t going to make this game into something different.
And even with bowl talk aplenty, the SU head coach was not about to fan the flame prior to taking the field Saturday.
‘I realized that I was going to build this game up as a game to win,’ Marrone said. ‘But I wasn’t going to build it up with very, very high expectations.’
Following the loss, Marrone and his staff immediately turned the focus to the next game. Away from the Syracuse bowl-talking bubble, perhaps the Orange can focus on just the game and not what it would be accomplishing with a win.
‘I talked to them about it in the locker room,’ Marrone said. ‘I said, ‘Tough loss, and now we have to go back to work and do all the right things.’ Right now we’re a 6-3 football team with three games left to play, and all our focus will go on our next opponent, which is Rutgers.’
This and that
Ryan Nassib’s 51-yard touchdown to Alec Lemon was the junior quarterback’s 15th of the season. He has thrown at least one touchdown pass in all nine games this season. … The reception was also the longest touchdown reception of Lemon’s career. … Tight end Nick Provo tied his career high with five receptions for 42 yards. … Kick returner Dorian Graham had a career-long 37-yard kickoff return while filling in for Prince-Tyson Gulley, who missed the game with mononucleosis. … Sophomore offensive tackle Andrew Phillips made his first career start, filling in for Michael Hay at right tackle. … Place kicker Ross Krautman has converted on 13-of-14 field goal attempts this season, including two Saturday, making him the most accurate kicker in the Big East.
