Tails between their legs, players trotted into halftime to the dull drizzle of cheers and moans. Almost immediately, anger and confusion filled the locker room. This was Akron all over again.

The ecstasy of last week’s win had faded. Syracuse was now losing to Division I-AA Maine. Players screamed at each other, fuming over the cruel déj vu. Flashbacks of SU’s past letdowns were spreading.

Amid the tumult, running back Delone Carter spoke up.

‘He brought the whole team together and said, ‘We’re not going back to our old ways, it’s not going to be the same anymore,’ SU receiver Mike Williams said.

And a new team showed up. Syracuse (2-2) rectified a first half littered with demoralizing trick plays and defensive seizures to beat Maine, 41-24, in front of 35,632 spectators Saturday night. Unlike last year’s embarrassing 42-28 loss to Akron, the Orange’s lethargic play disappeared at halftime.

Carter made the distinction. This team is different, he told his teammates.

‘We had to have a few words with each other to get ourselves refocused and get ourselves back in the game,’ Carter said. ‘A lot was said. We did not want to go back to our old ways.’

The ‘old ways’ haunted SU in the first half. After cutting Syracuse’s lead to 7-3, Maine rolled the dice on a surprise onside kick and won. One play later, quarterback Warren Smith air-mailed a perfect 56-yard touchdown to Landis Williams over cornerback Kevyn Scott.

The trickery didn’t cease as Maine treated Saturday like its last meal. The Black Bears successfully converted two fake punts and two onside kicks. The first fake punt came at its own 26-yard line when pseudo punter Mike Brusko hit teammate Desmond Randall for 35 yards.

On the sideline, Syracuse head coach Doug Marrone stood motionless in awe. With his clipboard pinned against his hip, Marrone watched the gutsy play unravel. Five plays later, Williams caught a tipped ball for a touchdown. Maine – hardly the Big Ten-talent Syracuse has been playing – took a 17-13 lead into the half.

Marrone stayed calm. He’s new here. He wasn’t around for the embarrassing losses of seasons past.

‘Just relax, just relax,’ he recalled telling his team.

For the players, visions of last year’s sobering loss to Akron resurfaced. That harsh, symbolic nightmare of the past returned. Especially to Carter.

‘It absolutely did,’ Carter said. ‘We went into halftime and had words for each other. We came out and showed that there’s no going back.’

This time, uninspired football against an inferior opponent only lasted one half. Inspired by Carter’s words – which come in a low, authoritative tone – the Orange buried Maine.

Defensively, Anthony Perkins’ third-down takedown of Smith and Doug Hogue’s interception abruptly downgraded upset alert from code red to code blue. Both plays sparked touchdowns to whiplash Maine’s first-half momentum.

Offensively, Paulus and Carter got into a groove. Carter (72 yards on 19 carries) rushed for three touchdowns in addition to the one he caught in the first half. Each score, a chip away at the old Syracuse that lost these kinds of games. Paulus, meanwhile, decisively completed passes to 11 different receivers for 270 yards, two touchdowns and no picks. After getting more than doubled in time of possession in the first quarter, the rout was on.

It just took one half of standing and waiting.

As Maine kept recharging its drives in such numbing, amusement-park fashion, Paulus cruised up and down the sideline with a message. One week prior, he watched the Indianapolis Colts beat the Miami Dolphins despite getting gorged in the time of possession, 45:07 to 14:53. The bizarre lesson stuck. Paulus knew the offense needed to maximize its opportunities.

‘Whether we get the ball for five minutes, three minutes and we’re off the field for 10 minutes, we need to execute, get first downs and do our job,’ Paulus said. ‘I thought we did that in the second half a lot better than the first half.’

Now, the attention shifts. Big East play begins. Some players saw glimpses of South Florida’s stunning upset of No. 18 Florida State on TV before their game. Didn’t dwell on it, but definitely noticed it.

Another first half like this probably won’t cut it next weekend. But for now, the Orange lives to see another day. Its train-wreck past remains safely in the rearview mirror. Disaster was averted. Akron memories are suppressed once again. For the first time since Sept. 30, 2006, Syracuse has won two games in a row.

At the podium after the win, Carter could finally relax. He smiled and sighed as if unloading a burden off his chest.

‘It feels good, it’s something we needed going into the Big East with,’ Carter said. ‘It gives us more confidence. It makes us feel that we’re going into next week strong.’

thdunne@syr.edu

Published on September 28, 2009 at 12:00 pm