EVANSTON, Ill. – Delone Carter didn’t mince words when asked how tough it was to find a rhythm Saturday while splitting carries with two other tailbacks.

‘Extremely,’ Carter said. ‘I don’t know how we’re going to do it, but we’re going to have to figure it out.’

One week into the season, it appears Syracuse still has plenty to learn about its undeveloped running back-by-committee system, which includes Carter, Curtis Brinkley and Doug Hogue all trying to fit into individual roles.

The three backs combined for 117 yards on 21 attempts in the Orange’s 30-10 loss to Northwestern, led by the starter Brinkley with 49 yards and a touchdown. At times, each looked capable of contributing to what could be a strong ground game this year, though none had more than nine carries. Carter added 45 yards and Hogue rounded the group with 23.

The game was supposed to finally illuminate how Syracuse head coach Greg Robinson planned to handle his team’s deepest position. Instead, what started as arguably the team’s biggest question is still just that – a question.

‘It was very frustrating with the backs rotating,’ Brinkley said. ‘At the end of the day, that’s the coaches’ decision, and whatever the coaches’ decide, that’s what we have to deal with.’

Robinson did not announce a starter prior the game, but eventually gave Brinkley the nod because of his seniority and training camp performance. Brinkley showed no ill effects from the broken leg he suffered from last year, rushing for 36 yards on five carries in Syracuse’s first possession, including a 28-yard burst down the right sideline. It was the Orange’s best drive of the game, going 63 yards and resulting in a field goal.

In the third quarter, Brinkley scored an impressive touchdown, bouncing off Adam Hahn’s would-be tackle in the backfield and scampering two yards into the endzone to give Syracuse a 10-9 lead.

Next came Hogue, who had his first carry in the Orange’s third drive. Hogue had two runs of at least 10 yards in that possession, using his linebacker-like frame to pound straight up the middle and blow through tackles into the second level.

Carter made his first appearance in two years in the second quarter, after missing all of 2007 with a hip injury. He fumbled his first attempt, recovered by SU’s Ben Maljovec. On Syracuse’s next drive, Carter exploded for 32 yards down the left sideline – longer than any rush the Orange had last season.

Although all three backs showed flashes, they were rotated so often nobody received carries in more than two consecutive drives.

At his weekly press conference Sunday afternoon, Robinson defended his decision to play all three almost equally but admitted perhaps it was difficult for his backs to find a groove during the game.

‘It might be, but I didn’t feel we really had enough data to say that this was the way it was,’ Robinson said. ‘That being said, it’s unfortunate, maybe, that we’re not at that point, but you have to do the right thing, and I believe that was the right thing to do.’

The ground game, as expected, was undoubtedly Syracuse’s greatest offensive weapon Saturday, especially in the first half when the Orange appeared to have control of the game. In the first quarter alone, SU rushed for 62 yards and had the ball for nearly 10 minutes.

But even though all three had their moments, Robinson acknowledged the main reason all three played is he hasn’t seen enough yet to carve out roles. How the carries will be divvied, next week, against Akron is still anyone’s guess.

‘I saw in Curtis, he broke out, got out,’ Robinson said. ‘I liked his touchdown run. I thought it was a good effort play. He did some things in the pass block that were good. Doug Hogue, you saw the powerful runner that we watched develop. … Good to see Delone out there and getting out into open spaces.

‘If one of those guys hadn’t played, we wouldn’t have been able to identify some of those things.’

jediamon@syr.edu

Published on September 1, 2008 at 12:00 pm