Three words for Paul Pasqualoni: Give it up.

The act, the ambiguity, the haziness. It should all be over. The quarterback vault is opened. Joe Fields is standing inside.

He’s your starter Sunday against Purdue at Ross-Ade Stadium. We all know this. There’s no need to be secretive anymore.

Yesterday, Pasqualoni, SU’s head coach, participated in his weekly Wednesday press conference. Toward the end, he was asked about Fields being named his starting quarterback, a story reported yesterday in this paper.

‘Well, the coach at Syracuse has said all along the starter will be announced Sunday,’ Pasqualoni said. ‘That’s the plan. That’s always been the plan. We’re going to announce the starting quarterback Sunday.’

He will announce it’s Joe Fields, the star freshman who enrolled early and stole the job once assumed for Perry Patterson.

But Patterson’s high school coach confirmed what most people were starting to think anyway. The biggest clue came at Tuesday’s interview session, where both Fields and Patterson were supposed to talk. Only Fields showed. Most people put two and two together.

‘Everybody wants to keep it a secret,’ said Fields, probably near tears trying to maintain his secret. ‘Coach P wishes to keep it a secret for his own reasons.’

Then the secret unraveled. Patterson’s McCaskey High School coach, Scott Feldman, broke the silence.

Still, Pasqualoni kept on with his act. He pretended this clandestine operation was still just that – when in fact his front only incited a silent laughter.

‘Does that mean you could change your decision on Sunday?’ a reporter asked Pasqualoni after the coach’s initial response.

‘It means I will (ITALICS)make(ITALICS) my decision on Sunday,’ Pasqualoni responded.

This must come as a surprise to Fields and middle linebacker Jerry Mackey, who both said Pasqualoni announced his decision in a team meeting Friday morning.

‘It was cool to come out and finally learn who would be leading the offense,’ Mackey said before anything broke publicly. ‘It’s hard to tell what the reaction of the team was, though. Because when Coach P talks, everybody listens.’

I’m stepping out of that company for a second to make a suggestion to Coach P. Drop the act. You’re not fooling anyone.

If Pasqualoni thinks this hazy indecision will affect Purdue’s game plan, that’s cute. And perhaps he is right, in some nominal, insignificant way. Either way, Purdue will pound SU on Sunday.

Fields is the starter. Pasqualoni seems more in denial about it than Patterson.

Fields seems like the best choice. A new, young, got-something-to-prove freshman who hasn’t been a part of the two-season lollapaloosing, a festival dedicated to disappointment and loss.

He could be just the spark SU needs. Freshman quarterbacks have been surprisingly successful at SU. Troy Nunes started six games and led SU to the Music City bowl in 1999. Never mind Nunes ultimately embarked on a four-year controversy with the embittered R.J. Anderson. Syracuse needs a winning season now. And a freshman quarterback – although inexperienced – could provide that.

A more glaring example – Donovan McNabb. Here are some nuggets from his freshman year. Big East Conference Rookie of the Year. Third nationally in passing efficiency. A 41-0 victory over Clemson in the Gator Bowl.

Fields is hardly a McNabb type. But just because he can barely buy a pack of cigarettes doesn’t necessarily mean he can’t lead a team.

‘I wasn’t nervous,’ Fields said. ‘Everyone was just curious and wanted to get it over with.’

Everyone except Pasqualoni. He still denies what everyone already knows.

Scott Lieber is the sports editor at The Daily Orange, where his columns appear regularly. E-mail him at smlieber@syr.edu.

Published on September 1, 2004 at 12:00 pm