Washington running back Louis Rankin took a sweep to the left sideline. The Syracuse defense was bent.

Syracuse linebacker Ben Maljovec had Rankin wrapped up in the backfield. Rankin cut back. The Syracuse defense was broken.

Rankin turned a significant loss into a 17-yard gain. What could’ve been a second down and long for the Huskies instead signified a breakthrough for UW’s offense. From that point on, Washington never stopped finding holes in an Orange defense that looked blown away by the Huskies’ speed.

Washington’s two-headed monster of Rankin and quarterback Jake Locker combined for 230 of the Huskies’ 302 total rushing yards. The SU offense showcased little firepower of its own, scampering to eight total yards on the ground all night. By the end, the team appeared exhausted and overwhelmed in a 42-12 defeat in the Carrier Dome on Friday-the worst home season-opening loss since 1977.

A crowd of 40,329 fans roared when Syracuse trotted onto the field in all orange uniforms. It signified a fresh beginning and a new hope for a team that has reached one bowl game since 2001 and has gone 5-19 under third-year head coach Greg Robinson.

By taking on a struggling program from across the country on national television, this started as a game Syracuse needed to take advantage of to regain the spotlight it once had. It ended as an embarrassment.

‘Right now, it’s tough because you’ve been working so long for this moment,’ SU safety Joe Fields said. ‘National TV and this happens. We definitely didn’t see this coming.’

Syracuse head coach Greg Robinson pegged Maljovec’s missed tackle as a momentum changer. The Huskies went three-and-out in its first two possessions. A tackle in the backfield meant second-and-long for Washington. Rankin’s juke put his team in Orange territory for the first time.

After the long dash, Rankin combined with Locker for three more runs of 10-plus yards on the drive, including Rankin’s 13-yard touchdown run.

The next UW drive appeared more disastrous for the Orange. Locker alone racked up 56 yards on the ground, finishing the possession by punching into the endzone with a 1-yard sneak to give Washington a 14-3 second-quarter lead. Syracuse answered back with a field goal before the half.

As soon as the second half started, the sequence repeated itself. Rankin scored on a 47-yard sprint, while Locker scrambled into the endzone on an eight-yard carry. All six of Washington’s touchdowns came as a result of the team’s ground game. Rankin and Locker scored five of them, and those five drives were of 70 yards or more.

‘There were some plays there where we could have been in better position,’ Greg Robinson said. ‘I also felt that the speed of the quarterback-I felt him. He was able to turn the corner around our defense. Once you start letting that happen, you start to over pursue and things happen.’

The Syracuse offense did little to allow the defense some time to rest.

After a positive first drive when the Orange took a 3-0 lead, the offense fell apart. First-time starting quarterback Andrew Robinson finished a 20-for-32 with 199 yards in the game. He hit wide receiver Mike Williams with a 10-yard score for SU’s only touchdown, well into garbage time.

The solid statline for Robinson was offset by the offensive line allowing seven sacks. Robinson also fumbled numerous snaps, while spending most of the game in a new variation of the ‘pistol’ offense, which seemed at first to catch everyone by surprise.

The Syracuse running game, however, wallowed in negative yardage for most of the game. Starting running back Curtis Brinkley rushed six times for four yards.

Poor tackling, missed assignments and poor blocking by the offensive line highlighted the team’s concerns. The players and coaches mentioned that they expected strong performances from Locker and the rest of the Husky offense. But nobody imagined the first game would end in such a huge disappointment.

‘Well, I’m not going to sit there and tell you I was considering getting beat by a bunch,’ Robinson said. ‘I knew we could get beat, and I think there are no guarantees-winning or losing. I would have liked to have seen a better performance than what I saw.’

Published on September 4, 2007 at 12:00 pm