No use letting it linger. Jim McKenzie refused to let the play loiter in his conscience. His first snap of the season soared over Greg Paulus’ head in National Lampoon fashion, essentially spotting Minnesota seven points.

Playing a position of anonymity, McKenzie was suddenly thrust into the spotlight in Syracuse’s opener for the wrong reasons. Moments after Syracuse’s 23-20 overtime loss to Minnesota, McKenzie did what he does after every game. He went home and popped in the game film.

‘I watched it as soon as I got back,’ McKenzie said.

By Monday, the Minnesota game was history. There wasn’t much time to drown in sorrows. One week after a punch-in-the-gut loss at the Carrier Dome, Syracuse travels to State College, Pa., where No. 7 Penn State awaits Saturday (noon, Big Ten Network). So much for rebounding with a cupcake.

Short memories from last week and short memories from last year have been the theme for Syracuse all week. Last year, Syracuse was bulldozed by Penn State, 55-13.

Not that Syracuse is putting any stock into it. That piece of game film is an artifact now. Cornerback Kevyn Scott said the team didn’t even watch the film of Syracuse’s loss to PSU last year. It’s taboo. It’s the Greg Robinson era. Plucking any nugget from the past would be unhealthy.

‘We don’t want to crack out that film,’ Scott said. ‘We’ll leave that in the past.’

Instead, Scott has been immersed in tape of Penn State’s new crop of receivers. One week after battling Minnesota’s Eric Decker, Scott’s matchup doesn’t get any easier. After hauling in all of three passes last season, Derek Moye broke out in PSU’s 31-7 win over Akron last week. The sophomore caught six passes for 138 yards and one touchdown.

Wide receiver figured to be the soft spot on Penn State. But after graduating Deon Butler and Derrick Williams, the position was reset and replenished. At 6-foot-5, Moye towers six inches over Scott. Nothing new, Scott smiles.

‘Most receivers, especially in the Big 10, are going to be taller guys,’ Scott said. ‘I’ll do what I would against any other receiver, get up in their chest and stay aggressive.’

Before Syracuse can think upset – it is a 29-point underdog – it must somehow devise a plan for Penn State quarterback Daryll Clark. A double threat last year, it appears Clark has matured into a prolific, downfield passer. Against Akron, he completed 29-of-40 passes for 353 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

Syracuse can’t zero in on one player in particular. Thus, safety Mike Holmes can’t fade into one player’s ZIP code all afternoon.

‘They have more than one weapon and that’s a big thing,’ said safety Mike Holmes. ‘They have running backs, guys they bring off the bench for certain things, so they have a lot of things they can do.’

Kind of like last year. Kind of like when Penn State peeled Syracuse’s defense for 560 yards. But again, that’s a memory the team is trying to suppress.

‘Last year against Penn State, that’s out of my mind because I don’t think we played as we should have in terms of preparing to win,’ Holmes said. ‘This is a totally different team here at Syracuse.’

Missed opportunities spoiled Syracuse’s season-opener.

It’s probably irrational to say McKenzie’s high snap cost Syracuse the game. The butterfly effect alone negates that theory. But the snap certainly dug the Orange into a deep, unnecessary hole. It wasn’t nerves, McKenzie assured. He tried to get his line distance from Minnesota’s front four by holding the ball out far. His elbow locked. He gripped the ball too tight. And he fluttered it over Paulus’ head.

Through the thousands of snaps he’s done through camp, McKenzie has had a couple flyers. But nothing like this.

‘That was just completely my fault,’ McKenzie said. ‘It was a mistake I made.’

Crowd noise will inevitably be a factor Saturday. With more than 107,000 fans loaded into Beaver Stadium, each snap will be a journey. Each snap, another chance at disaster.

So of course this was the natural follow-up question. McKenzie knew it was coming. He nodded his head before the question was even finished. In the wake of his shotgun snap gone wild, how will he cope with Saturday’s airport-runway noise?

‘When you have that much noise, every call I make and every type of idea for protection needs to be repeated and I need to hear Greg Paulus if I can,’ he said.

If he can’t, McKenzie and Paulus will rely on silent counts. Either way, last week and last year are superfluous.

This year’s Penn State team is all that matters, players say. Only this year, Syracuse is playing at Beaver Stadium instead of the Carrier Dome.

And that’s something that is impossible to prepare for.

‘You can’t really simulate it. You can’t really simulate (107,000),’ Scott said. ‘We’re just going to go out there and see what happens.’

Gillum injured

A linebacker unit that was already depleted heading into the season took another blow this week. Ryan Gillum, Syracuse’s starting weak side linebacker, injured his right shoulder at Tuesday’s practice and will miss Saturday’s game, according to a release by SU Athletics.

Gillum was a pleasant surprise in Syracuse’s season-opener with six tackles, including two for loss. It was the junior’s first game action in his collegiate career.

E.J. Carter is expected to supplant Gillum. The freshman competed with Gillum for the spot all August. In spot duty last weekend, Carter had one tackle for loss.

thdunne@syr.edu

Published on September 11, 2009 at 12:00 pm