It was a schoolyard play, really, like sandlot football.

The quarterback drops back, three wide receivers sprint deep as fast as they can and the quarterback heaves the ball to the open man.

“It’s sort of like being a kid,” wide receiver David Tyree said. “Everybody runs streaks, and whoever’s open is going to get the ball.”

Syracuse ran the play several times Saturday in its 63-17 romp over Rhode Island. The lucky open man? Jamel Riddle, who finished with five catches for 176 yards.

Riddle’s big day seems atypical of SU’s offense this year, which has mostly forgotten its wide receivers. Before Saturday, Syracuse receivers had caught just eight passes in the first two games. Against Rhode Island, they hauled in nine.

For Tyree and company, the new play-calling was a welcome change.

“I’ve been here three years,” Tyree said. “I just want to contribute. But every receiver wants big numbers. It’s all about opportunities and guys taking advantage of the opportunities.

“It’s frustrating for me as a senior and a captain, knowing that our wide receiver corps is better than in the past. When we don’t get those passes and things go wrong, it’s like, ‘Why don’t they lean on the receivers?’ “

The reason has been the inconsistency of quarterback R.J. Anderson. Against North Carolina, Anderson completed just 4 of 11 passes for 71 yards. But versus Rhode Island, Anderson tossed for 306 on 13-of-18 passing.

Anderson’s improvement, Tyree said, should be attributed to confidence early in the game. Against North Carolina, Anderson’s first pass deflected off the chest of Riddle and fell into the arms of a UNC linebacker for an interception. Against Rhode Island, he completed his first pass to Chris Davis for a 10-yard gain.

“We dictate how much we throw off how well (Anderson) plays,” Tyree said. “If he plays the way he did Saturday, we can throw the ball all over the place, hopefully 30 or 40 times.”

That probably will not happen, considering Syracuse threw 25 times against URI. Still, Tyree can dream.

“We can complement the running backs,” Tyree said. “I feel like myself, Johnnie (Morant) and Jamel should have three or four catches a game.”

***

Say what?

Triple-option offense — it just sounds complicated.

And, as Syracuse found out Saturday, it looks complex, too. Just listen to Syracuse defensive coordinator Chris Rippon try to explain it:

“You don’t have to block a lot of people,” Rippon said. “Your limitation is generally lineman, can you keep people protected? They read the defensive end, and they protect against the safety. You have to stay disciplined.”

Right. Anyway, Rhode Island surprised Syracuse enough to run up 17 second-quarter points. On 55 carries, the Rams rushed for 273 yards.

The Orangemen, though, seemed to settle in defensively in the second half, perhaps for the first time this season.

A bye week this Saturday should afford the SU defense a chance to heal. Nose tackle Christian Ferrara returned to practicing in pads this week, and defensive end Josh Thomas still needs to recover from torn muscles in his foot. Neither played against Rhode Island, and Ferrara missed the North Carolina game, too.

“We have the talent,” Rippon said, “and when we can get it all together and be on the same page, we’ll be very good.”

***

This and that

Syracuse offensive coordinator George DeLeone said despite 280 rushing yards, the SU offensive line did not have its best game against Rhode Island. “Although we were effective,” DeLeone said, “we weren’t quite as dominant as I wanted to be.” The line played its best against UNC, he said. … Despite the lopsided victory, Rhode Island held the time-of-possession advantage Saturday, 33:04 to 26:56. … Syracuse converted all five of its red-zone chances Saturday, pushing it to a perfect 8-of-8 this season.

Published on September 18, 2002 at 12:00 pm