Bruce Williams stood among a sea of reporters, fielding the same question asked a dozen ways and trying desperately to find a response that would completely satisfy the unrelenting angry mob in front of him. Nothing he said could fully explain why Syracuse had been embarrassed in its own building just a few minutes prior.

Finally, losing patience and running out of words to say, Williams lashed out.

‘We believe in Coach (Greg) Robinson still,’ he said. ‘He’s got a good plan for us. It’s us as players that got to go out and execute what he got for us. And we didn’t do that today, and it’s showing.’

Is it ever.

The No. 17 Nittany Lions (3-0) rumbled into the Carrier Dome and put on an offensive showcase at the Orange’s expense in a 55-13 flogging Saturday afternoon. Penn State put up an astounding 560 yards of total offense (6.83 yards per play), leaving in its wake a beleaguered and maligned program running out of time and excuses.

It was utter carnage. Syracuse’s defensive line couldn’t contain the run. The linebackers, once again, couldn’t tackle. And, perhaps most glaringly, the secondary could not stop the wide receiver duo of Jordan Norwood and Deon Butler, who went for 113 and 110 yards, respectively, all in the first half. Both players caught two touchdowns.

The game was so out of hand so quickly the Nittany Lions, already leading by 21, brought in backup quarterback Pat Devlin less than two minutes into the second quarter. Starter Daryll Clark finished with 163 yards and two touchdowns; Devlin had 130 yards and two scores.

For much of the day, the Orange simply looked outclassed by a bigger, stronger and faster Penn State team that entered the contest averaging 55.5 points per game.

‘We played a very good football team,’ Robinson said. ‘I was very impressed. I knew that going in. And they are a good team.’

If Syracuse ever had a chance, it came in the opening minutes. On the second play from scrimmage, SU tackle Nick Santiago forced Clark to fumble, and defensive tackle Art Jones scooped the loose ball. The 45,795 fans erupted, thinking their team could score first gain some momentum for the rest of the game.

Their jubilation would not last long.

Tailback Curtis Brinkley fumbled a backward pass from quarterback Cameron Dantley on the next play, and the Nittany Lions regained possession. Clark came off the sideline and launched a 55-yard touchdown strike to Norwood, who broke Nico Scott’s tackle and never looked back. His team didn’t either. The three play swing set the tone for the day.

The Nittany Lions commenced to score on five of its six remaining first-half drives, putting the game out of reach. Penn State had 28 points before Syracuse had a first down. In the first 30 minutes, the Nittany Lions had 393 yards of total offense to the Orange’s 42. Clark and Devlin had both thrown for at least 100 yards, and tailback Evan Royster already had 95 yards.

‘It was huge,’ Jones said of the early fumble. ‘They are a solid football team, and we didn’t have room to make mistakes. And they capitalized on our mistakes, and they put points on the board.’

The Orange never responded, marring what was supposed to be a graceful finish to an otherwise historic weekend for the program and the city of Syracuse, what with the premiere of ‘The Express’ and constant festivities honoring the life of famed tailback Ernie

Instead, it was just another display of the same mistakes the Orange demonstrated in its disappointing 42-28 to Akron last week. The same mistakes that caused the Dome crowd to boo Director of Athletics Daryl Gross during halftime Saturday. The same flaws that made Robinson’s hot seat even hotter.

‘I’m constantly evaluating,’ Gross said after the game. ‘I mean, that’s my job to evaluate constantly, constantly, constantly. I don’t tell my people my inner workings. It’s just not what we talk about.

‘But, obviously, we don’t sit idle. And I always like to feel like we’re always evaluating, and we’re fair people. And at the same time, we do whatever we need to do, because we want to have a great program.’

As for Robinson, he managed to sum up the entire game – and maybe the entire season, maybe his entire Syracuse career thus far – in one sentence.

Said Robinson, ‘Tough day at the office.’

Enterprise editor Andy McCullough contributed to this story.

jediamon@syr.edu

Published on September 13, 2008 at 12:00 pm