Cameron Dantley doesn’t sound like the quarterback of a beleaguered football team. As far as the junior is concerned, Syracuse is poised to break out.

‘It’s crazy because we all know it’s going to happen,’ Dantley said. ‘It’s going to be that quick, and it’s going to happen.’

Pretty confident, isn’t he? Almost as if he doesn’t realize his team is 1-5, coming off losses against its first two Big East opponents. Dantley and the Orange will travel to Tampa, Fla., Saturday (noon, Time Warner 26) for a matchup against the No. 19 Bulls (5-1, 0-1), probably the best team in the conference.

Somehow, despite all the losing and all the rumblings about head coach Greg Robinson’s job security, Dantley has found a way to put all that aside and believe Syracuse is bound to start winning.

And he is not alone in that sentiment.

‘I think the days of the 40-point allowed games are over,’ defensive back Kevyn Scott said Wednesday. ‘Like our coach said, we’re going to be a good team and it’s coming. Have we arrived? No, we haven’t arrived yet, but we’re getting there.’

After losing its first three non-conference games this season by an average of 25 points, Syracuse has played well in Big East play thus far. Against Pittsburgh on Sept. 27, the Orange held a 14-3 lead after the first quarter and carried an eight-point lead into the fourth quarter. Last weekend, SU had its best defensive effort of the year, allowing just 17 points and 268 yards of offense to a powerhouse West Virginia squad.

Though both games resulted in disappointing losses, Syracuse safety Max Suter said playing close against two tough teams has given the Orange some momentum heading into this week at USF.

‘I see a different fire in our eyes this week than I have in the past,’ Suter said. ‘Everyone is pumped up and ready to go. It’s the intensity. People flying around, wanting to get in on the play, wanting to hit. Against West Virginia, there wasn’t just one guy making tackles. There were three, four, five guys in on every play hitting people.’

Perhaps, but the statistics leading into the game certainly favor the highly-touted Bulls. Despite its recent successes, Syracuse still ranks 105th in the country in both total offense and defense. The Orange comes into the game last in the Big East in defense, allowing an average of 33.2 points per game. It must stop the Bulls, who are the best scoring team in the conference.

Add in that South Florida coming off a bye had two weeks to prepare for Syracuse, and it could be a long afternoon for the Orange.

Nevertheless, like his players, Robinson remains encouraged by his squad’s recent performances its last two games.

‘We didn’t win either one of those, but at the same time, we were a better team when we stepped on the field with Pitt than we were the week before that and we were a better team against West Virginia than I think we were against Pittsburgh,’ Robinson said at his press conference Tuesday. ‘The question is, ‘Are we going to be a better team when we step onto that field against versus South Florida than we were against West Virginia?”

Still, Syracuse failed to win both those games and enters the weekend on a two-game losing streak as Big East play progresses. Though the Orange had opportunities to knock off Pitt and West Virginia, it failed to execute in key situations.

That’s what Scott has been thinking about all week. Just how close Syracuse has come, only to see a potential victory snatched away. That is what is still holding this team back.

‘It’s like going to a boxing match when you’re killing a boxer the whole way through, 15 rounds, and the last round, you get knocked out,’ Scott said. ‘It just hurts. It hurts.’

jediamon@syr.edu

Published on October 17, 2008 at 12:00 pm