Ethan Ramsey, sports editor, is a summer intern at the Buffalo News. This story appeared in the Aug. 8, editions.

SYRACUSE – After his offense ranked 115th among the 117 Division I teams last season, Syracuse University football coach Greg Robinson fielded the obvious question at the school’s annual media day Monday.

Will the offense have a different look under new coordinator Brian White?

Robinson shook his head no.

Uh oh.

Coming off a 1-10 season, the worst in Syracuse’s 117-year football history, Robinson hopes the execution of the West Coast offense dramatically improves in his second year at the helm.

The offense appeared completely lost at times in an agonizing year for Orange fans.

Robinson brought in Denver Broncos tight end coach Brian Pariani last season to install the pro-style offense laden with passing at a university known for great running backs (Jim Brown, Ernie Davis, Joe Morris). Even its most famous quarterback, Donovan McNabb, scrambled often.

With Pariani’s departure, center stage at better execution must be senior quarterback Perry Patterson, who admitted feeling overwhelmed last season. He looked jittery in the pocket and overthrew his targets, especially in embarrassing home losses to Rutgers (31-9) and South Florida (27-0).

Step One toward improvement for Patterson meant dropping weight. The 6-foot-4 signal caller tipped the scales at 257 at one point last year. It’s well known Robinson has kept close tabs on Patterson since the end of last season, calling him often to check up.

‘If there’s another person on this football team that has worked harder than Perry Patterson to be the best he can be, I’d like to see who it is,’ Robinson said.

The Orange also changed quarterbacks coaches, replacing a young Major Applewhite – the former Texas star who took the offensive coordinator position at Rice – with well-traveled and little-known veteran Phil Earley.

While Robinson says fans will see no discernible difference in the formations and play-calling, Patterson said the two new coaches have worked toward internally simplifying matters for 2006.

‘Way more comfortable,’ Patterson said Sunday on the eve of the opening of practice. ‘Way more comfortable. Even when we started spring, I felt like I was more comfortable going into spring.

‘Just going over all the things with coach White and coach Earley with film and things like that, I’m just getting more and more comfortable, so now I’m going to start playing and thinking less.’

Patterson and his teammates also may benefit from decreased expectations. Robinson arrived to much fanfare last season, resulting in a boost in ticket sales and bowl aspirations. SU was picked to finish last in the conference this season at the Big East’s annual media day in July.

‘I just think that we got ahead of ourselves,’ Patterson said. ‘With all the new changes, everybody was real excited. Coming off almost winning the Big East the year before that, we were probably just thinking we are going to be much better this year, and it just didn’t happen that way.’

An easier schedule will help in 2006. After a season in which SU traveled to Florida State, Notre Dame and Louisville, only West Virginia should present a tough challenge this year. There’s road games against Illinois and Cincinnati plus home contests against Miami (Ohio), Wyoming and Connecticut.

Robinson brushed off the last-place prediction, citing a pro football preseason magazine that picked the Denver Broncos to finish last in the AFC West in 1997. With Robinson as defensive coordinator, the Broncos upset the Green Bay Packers to win Super Bowl XXXII. ‘I can’t really worry about all those things,’ Robinson said. ‘It’s not where you start. It’s where you finish.’

Published on August 8, 2006 at 12:00 pm