Syracuse University football team gets a break from grind at halfway point
By Dave Rahme / The Post-Standard
October 13, 2009, 7:31AM

Syracuse, NY -- Doug Marrone believes his Syracuse University football team can use a break from Doug Marrone for a few days.

"Just getting them some time off and away from the coaches for a while is probably the best thing for them right now," Marrone said Monday during the weekly Big East coaches teleconference.

Marrone said the Orange (2-4, 0-2) is banged up physically and mentally at the halfway point of the season and will get a few days to lift and run and generally lick its wounds during its off week. It returns to action on Oct. 24 vs. Akron in the Carrier Dome.

"I believe we’ll be able to get our players back and finish strong in the second half of the season," Marrone said.

While the players catch their breath, Marrone and his staff will huddle over film of the first six games, the latest a disheartening 34-13 loss to Virginia on Saturday in the Dome, and go back to the drawing board. Among the biggest topics they study will be the offense’s performance on third down, which ranks No. 117 in the nation (25.35 percent) among the 120 teams that play Division I-A football. SU was 0-for-11 in converting third downs into first downs Saturday.

"The first thing we have to do is get ourselves ready as coaches," Marrone said, "meaning that we’re going to go back and pull what’s going on with our third-down situations on both offense and defense, pull the red zone and see what we’re doing offensively and defensively, why we’re not doing as well as we should. Look at the plays, how we’re running them, how many plays are we running during practice, are we running the plays enough before we go out and play, are we putting our players in the best positions.

"So this is really a big quality control week early in the week for us. And then what the players need to do is to lift and run, mentally take a couple days to relax and then come back and refocus."

Specifically, the Orange needs to refocus on its turnover situation. Entering Big East play it was plus-3 in turnover margin; in its two conference games it is minus-5.

"The problem we have right now is we’re creating too many mistakes," Marrone said. "More so now once we’ve gotten into the Big East than we had earlier in the season, and that’s a concern."

Big East on national display

Of the Big East Conference’s eight football teams, only two remain undefeated overall as the season approaches the halfway point. Sometime late Thursday night, there will be only one.

The conference will hog the national spotlight that night when No. 9 Cincinnati (5-0, 1-0) travels to No. 21 South Florida (5-0, 1-0) at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.

"It’s exciting," Bearcats coach Brian Kelly said Monday during the weekly Big East football coaches teleconference. "It’s exciting for the Big East. You’ve got two top-25 teams playing in a marquee matchup on TV. It’s why you sign up for this. Everybody’s excited here. I’m sure they feel the same way at South Florida."

They do.

"It’s tremendous for the Big East having two nationally ranked teams playing on Thursday night on national TV," Bulls coach Jim Leavitt said.

On paper, the game should be a great one. Cincinnati is ranked first in the conference in scoring offense (42.0 points per game). South Florida is No. 2 (37.0). The order is reversed in scoring defense, with USF No. 1 (9.4 points per game allowed), and UC No. 2 (13.8).

Specifically, the showdown will pit South Florida’s George Selvie and Jason Pierre-Paul, a scary pair of bookend defensive ends, against Cincinnati senior quarterback Tony Pike, who leads the conference at 298.6 passing yards per game.

"They are just very explosive," Leavitt said. "Their quarterback, Pike, has just done a great job. He hasn’t made any mistakes. He makes all the right decisions. He can make all the throws. He has great presence. He’s getting better all the time."

Kelly said his team’s spread offense should help it avoid the big rush from USF’s ends.

"Those two guys coming off the edge will sack you," he said. "You better have some answers. And I think we have some answers, but you better still execute. Having the spread definitely lends itself to helping you get the ball out quicker and try to slow down those two very good defensive ends."

The Big East will be back on ESPN at 8 p.m. Friday when Pittsburgh (5-1, 2-0) travels to Rutgers (4-1, 0-1).

Players of the week

Offense: West Virginia tailback Noel Devine rushed for 91yards and one touchdown and caught two passes for 12 yards and another TD in a 34-13 victory over Syracuse.

Defense: Connecticut safety Robert Vaughn had 10 tackles, one tackle for loss and two interceptions, returning one 20 yards for a touchdown, in the Huskies’ 24-21 loss at Pittsburgh.

Special teams: Pitt kicker Dan Hutchins kicked the winning field goal against UConn, one of three he made on the day. He also averaged 43 yards on three punts, placing one inside the 10-yard line and two inside the 20.