The fans made it known Saturday who they want to see at quarterback for Syracuse, and it’s not Greg Paulus. The Carrier Dome crowd booed Paulus, a local legend, and cheered for backup Ryan Nassib throughout the second half in SU’s 28-7 loss against Cincinnati, again raising questions of an impending quarterback controversy.

Though head coach Doug Marrone maintained afterward that Paulus is still his starter, Saturday marked the first time the SU fans turned against their hometown hero all season.

‘When you’re out on the field, you’re focusing on what you need to do,’ Paulus said. ‘We have some great fans and some passionate fans, but when we’re playing and the snap’s going on, we’re thinking about reads, progressions, getting first down and playing to the task at hand.’

The jeers stemmed from a crucial play in the second quarter, when Paulus threw an interception in the end zone with Syracuse trailing by just seven. The play called for a fake screen to Donte Davis and then a pass to the middle of the end zone, but Cincinnati was not fooled, and Drew Frey jumped the route.

From that point on, the fans booed Paulus every time he stepped onto the field, disappointed that Marrone decided to let him play. Meanwhile, they applauded for Nassib and expressed approval whenever Marrone put him in. This pattern continued for the rest of the game.

Syracuse rotated the two quarterbacks liberally, especially after halftime. Nassib exclusively played the Orange’s last drive, which ended in a punt. Paulus finished 12-of-17 for 85 yards, a touchdown and the interception. Nassib went 7-of-10 for 97 yards, including a 30-yard bomb to Antwon Bailey – SU’s longest play of the afternoon.

After the game, Paulus and Marrone both said they did not hear the booing. Though Nassib admitted he heard the cheers and that ‘it felt good’ to know the crowd was behind him, he said it is easy to ignore the crowd when the game is on.

‘Once you’re in the heat of the moment, you don’t notice that,’ Nassib said. ‘Me and Greg, we both needed to do what we needed to do to get the ball moving and do what we need to do to accomplish plays on offense and keep the ball rolling.

Williams held in check

Mike Williams isn’t sneaking up on anybody anymore. Cincinnati built its defensive game plan around containing Syracuse’s star wide receiver.

Whatever the Bearcats did, it worked.

Williams was a non-factor Saturday, making just four catches for 34 yards in his first action since serving a one-game suspension last week against Akron. His longest reception went for 17 yards.

‘He’s their No. 1 receiver and makes big plays,’ Frey said. ‘One of the focus points of the game was to stop him in particular. For the most part, I think we did that.’

With Williams neutralized, the Orange’s aerial attack hit a wall. Paulus and Nassib combined to go 19-for-27 for just 182 yards. Syracuse’s leading receiver, Donte Davis, caught only five passes for 51 yards.

Also noticeably absent was any semblance of a deep threat for the second straight game. Besides Nassib’s 30-yard completion to Bailey, SU took just one shot downfield the entire afternoon – a bomb by Nassib that sailed well over Davis’ head.

Williams is the Orange’s true big-play option, and SU realizes just how much it needs its best offensive player if it hopes to win three more times this year and reach a bowl game.

‘They did a good job, whether it was doubling or putting an extra guy on him or dropping some coverage,’ Paulus said. ‘They did a good job. We are going to need Mike to make good plays, and he is going to make good plays for us.’

This and that

Running back Delone Carter followed up his 170-yard performance from last week by compiling just 50 yards on 19 carries (a 2.6 average). …Ryan Lichtenstein took the Orange’s lone extra point. He was benched last week midway through the game in favor of Jake Smith. Marrone said the starting kicker would be a game-time decision. …Center Ryan Bartholomew appears to have solved his snapping problem. He did not have a single bad snap after flinging a few over the quarterbacks’ heads last week. …With its loss Saturday, Syracuse slips to 15-3 all-time on Halloween.

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Published on November 1, 2009 at 12:00 pm