Jake Flaherty saw Northeastern play plenty of times as a child growing up rooting for Rhode Island football. And after every game, he came away with the same impressions.

‘I remember going to those games as a kid, and those guys seemed like really good football players to me,’ said Flaherty, a senior linebacker for Syracuse. ‘They still do.’

That’s the message the Orange (0-3) is trying to remember this week as it prepares for its match up in the Carrier Dome, Saturday (3:30 p.m., TW26), against the Huskies: Northeastern may be a Division I-AA program, but that doesn’t mean Syracuse can afford to take the game lightly.

On paper, the Orange appears to have a great opportunity to notch its first win of the season. SU has not played a Colonial Athletic Association opponent since 2002 – a 63-15 win over Rhode Island in 2002. Northeastern (0-2) is a middling I-AA team coming off a three-win season.

But even though the Huskies lack the depth of Division I programs, Flaherty was quick to point out Northeastern has several key players in its starting lineup that could have I-A size and talent.

Most notably, Flaherty singled out tight end Brian Mandeville, who is listed at 6-foot-7, 253 pounds. In two games this season, Mandeville has caught eight passes for 113 yards, including 6-for-82 yards, last Saturday in Northeastern’s, 34-27, overtime loss to No. 17 Georgia Southern.

Flaherty also mentioned quarterback Anthony Orio, who went 24-of-38 for 287 yards and a touchdown last week, as a legitimate threat.

Still, the Syracuse players realize it should have the advantage over Northeastern. A win is mandatory, they say. The real key is blowing Northeastern away, especially with the Big East schedule beginning next week.

‘We’re supposed to win,’ said cornerback Dorian Graham. ‘It means to me we should go out there and dominate and show everybody that the predictions are true. That we should go out there and put something on this team.’

Wide receiver Donte Davis agrees.

‘It could be a successful week just because we won, but we really want to go in there and dominate the game so we have confidence going into conference play,’ Davis said. ‘That’s a big thing, playing with confidence.’

Apparently, that message has not been lost on SU head coach Greg Robinson. Flaherty said throughout the week, Robinson has been preaching the point that just winning might not be good enough.

‘Coach is making the point we don’t just want to win. We want to win and play well,’ Flaherty said. ‘Obviously, a win is a win, but we want to go out there and perform well.

‘I think if we do we are going to win by more than three points. I’m not making any guarantees or anything like that because I don’t want that to get blown out of proportion. But I think if we perform well, we can win this football game.’

Giruzzi takes it up a notch

Flaherty may not have wanted to make a bold statement, but Syracuse defensive end Vincenzo Giruzzi came out firing at an interview session, Wednesday afternoon.

‘I’ll guarantee that win. Absolutely,’ Giruzzi said.

About two minutes later, given the opportunity to renege or reconsider his comments, Giruzzi asked if any other players on the team were willing to guarantee the victory. When a reporter told him no one else had made such a prediction, Giruzzi did not back down.

‘That’s good, I’m glad,’ Giruzzi said. ‘Yeah, I’ll guarantee this win. Absolutely.’

Another honorary captain

Robinson announced at his press conference Tuesday afternoon former Orangeman Chris Gedney would be honorary captain for this week’s game. Gedney played for Syracuse from 1989-92 and holds the program record for the most catches as a tight end in a season (34) and a career (91).

Gedney went on to play in the NFL for the Chicago Bears and Arizona Cardinals from 1993-2000.

jediamon@syr.edu

Published on September 17, 2008 at 12:00 pm