Game one of the Cameron Dantley experiment was an unequivocal success. Game two didn’t go quite as well.

The Orange’s junior quarterback, starting his second consecutive game after replacing Andrew Robinson against Akron last week, went 13-of-32 for just 110 yards with a touchdown and an interception. The touchdown, an 11-yard strike to freshman Marcus Sales late in the third quarter, was essentially meaningless. At the time, Syracuse trailed, 45-6.

In his first start against the Zips, Dantley went 13-for-20 for 135 yards with three touchdowns and an interception – a strong enough performance to earn him another chance. Dantley was markedly worse against the Nittany Lions. The Orange did not have a first down until the 12:11 mark of the second quarter when it was already trailing, 28-0.

Dantley looked especially uncomfortable early in the game, starting 1-for-5. The lone completion was a one-yard pass to tailback Curtis Brinkley. He struggled in the first quarter against Akron, too, tripping and stumbling while dropping back in the first quarter.

‘Just like last week, I thought I didn’t get off to as good a track as I could have,’ Dantley said. ‘I was a little riled up before the game.’

Robinson came into the game for Syracuse’s final drive and went 0-for-3. He was benched against Akron after a disappointing outing against Northwestern in the season-opener, in which he threw 14-for-28 for 103 yards.

After the game, Syracuse head coach Greg Robinson was not prepared to announce who would be under center next Saturday against Northeastern.

‘We’ll talk more about that later in the week,’ he said. ‘I wasn’t dissatisfied with Cam (Dantley). There were a couple situations where he could’ve made better throws, but he handled the situations pretty well and I liked the touchdown pass on the fourth down. He hung in there tough.

‘We’ll evaluate all that. Some of it is watching Andrew (Robinson) getting back in groove, too. I think he is. I’ve seen improvement in practice, and he threw a couple balls the other day that were good.’

Carter injured

Syracuse’s tailback situation, which seemed so solid last week against Akron, took a hit Saturday against Penn State. Delone Carter, who had established himself as one of the two main backs along with starter Curtis Brinkley, pulled his left hamstring early in the second quarter and did not return.

It was an innocent enough looking play. Carter ran left toward the sideline and looked ready to turn the corner when, suddenly, he pulled up and casually slipped out-of-bounds. Carter finished the game with six yards on three carries.

Robinson said at his press conference Sunday afternoon the injury is unrelated to the hip injury that forced Carter to miss the entire 2007 season. He will undergo an MRI today, and his status for next week is still unknown.

Hits keep coming

Syracuse’s entire defensive unit is still hampered by injuries. Starting cornerback Nico Scott started the game Saturday against Penn State but came out early, suffering from a sprained ankle. Robinson said at his press conference Sunday afternoon Scott felt good and hoped to practice Tuesday. The same goes for safety Randy McKinnon, who has a bone bruise.

Offensive guard Ryan Bartholomew missed his second consecutive game with a concussion he suffered in practice. Robinson said he hoped Bartholomew would be ready to return to practices Sunday evening.

This and that

At halftime, Chancellor Nancy Cantor and Director of Athletics Daryl Gross accompanied actors Dennis Quaid and Rob Brown, and former Syracuse tailback Floyd Little at midfield in honor of Friday night’s world premiere of ‘The Express,’ the Ernie Davis biopic.

During a ceremony on the Quad before the game, Cantor and Gross unveiled a statue of Davis. Cantor also announced the new dorm outside DellPlain would be called Ernie Davis Hall.

jediamon@syr.edu

Published on September 14, 2008 at 12:00 pm