By Chris Estrada
After three brutal defeats, it seemed in the eyes of some fans and media members that the Syracuse football program was on the verge of collapse. But on his 23rd birthday, senior tailback Curtis Brinkley gave the Orange faithful a present of his own: something to cheer about.
Unfortunately for the Huskies, the gift came at their expense.
Brinkley’s 145-yard performance, along with a 100-yard outing by sophomore tailback Doug Hogue, made the difference as another strong offensive outing for Northeastern went by the boards in a 30-21 loss at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, N.Y.
With 6:41 left in the game, senior tailback Alex Broomfield scored from one yard out to pull Northeastern to 27-21 after two third-quarter touchdowns had given Syracuse a 24-7 lead.
But the Orange responded with a drive that rode the efforts of Hogue and lasted 4:49. He ran for 48 yards on six attempts during the drive, which ended with a 21-yard field goal by senior kicker Patrick Shadle to make it 30-21.
“The one thing they did better in the second half was when they went to their two tight end formation, and also the second tight end being the fullback,” said head coach Rocky Hager. “They created some creases for themselves and did a better job of fitting up against some of us. It may have been a case where the 22 extra scholarships started to wear us out a little bit. … I have to look at the video for sure, but that’s what I thought.”
Hager also gave credit to his defense.
“Defensively, we had some decent stops and some pretty good play,” he said. “But when you’re constantly trying to come up with something extra and keep somebody in the box to keep the runners from getting through there, it makes things a little rough on you.”
The Huskies got the ball back with 1:46 remaining in the game at their own 21-yard line. They got to the 42-yard line when senior quarterback Anthony Orio’s pass on second down with 1:20 to go was tipped and intercepted by Syracuse senior defensive back Bruce Williams to ice the game.
Orio had a solid outing, going 23-for-37 with 293 yards, which is a career high, and two touchdowns. He also managed to spread the ball around with junior receiver Tony Lott (65 yards) and sophomore receiver Greg Abelli (60 yards) grabbing six catches apiece and senior tight end Brian Mandeville (83 yards) getting five.
In addition to the late pick by Williams, Orio had another pass batted wayward by blitzing sophomore linebacker Derrell Smith, which was eventually caught by sophomore safety Randy McKinnon with 6:40 left in the third quarter.
“The guy came off the edge on the first one, got his hands up and hit it and – jeez, I mean, that ball went pretty high,” Orio said. “Usually, when that happens and it’s up in the air that long, usually the defense is going to make the play on the ball and they did.
“The second one, a minute left, I’m just trying to make a play. Threw across my body – I mean, it’s not exactly the ideal situation for a quarterback.”
Orio helped engineer two fourth-quarter scoring drives that got the Huskies back in the game after trailing 10-7 at the half. With 14:20 to go, Orio found wide-open senior receiver Chris Plum (two catches, 60 yards) over the top for a 54-yard touchdown strike that brought NU to a 10-point deficit, 24-14.
A field goal by Shadle pushed the Orange lead to 27-14 on the next drive, but the Huskies answered with a possession that featured two key third-down plays to keep it alive: a 22-yard reception by Mandeville and a 10-yard run by Orio. It ended with Broomfield’s one-yard scamper to the end zone.
Mandeville said the offense was ready if the defense had managed to stop the Orange on their final drive.
“We were ready to go back on the field if we make that stop, but they got a good running game,” Mandeville said. “They kind of killed the clock there at the end and kept the chains moving, so we didn’t get the opportunity. It was too little, too late when we did.”
Syracuse held a 10-0 lead in the late stages of the second quarter, but Northeastern was able to score just before halftime as Orio hit Abelli for a 27-yard touchdown pass with 25 seconds left in the first half to make it 10-7.
The Huskies (0-3) will play their first home game next weekend AT Parsons Field, where they’ll face the University of California-Davis Aggies (1-3) Saturday at noon (Comcast SportsNet, 104.9 WRBB, and 890 ESPN).
-News staff writer Andrew Parente contributed to this report
