On a crisp and sunny day in East Hartford, Conn., last November, Syracuse saw its will bow, bend and ultimately break.

The Orange staggered backward before eventually falling flat as a Connecticut team with a first-year head coach and a sub-.500 record cast aside any semblance of a passing game to pound the ball unabashedly for the final 30 minutes en route to a 28-21 win.

The Huskies dared Syracuse to stop the rushing attack — only two passes were even attempted in the second half — and handfuls of missed tackles later, UConn piled up 198 rushing yards and three touchdowns. SU was handed its second loss in what would ultimately become a five-game cliff dive bereft of toughness and brimming with disappointment.

But in Friday’s Big East conference opener, a gritty 14-13 win over Pittsburgh, the story unfolded differently. Syracuse effused toughness and was brimming with brawn against a Pittsburgh team that once again refused to abandon the run. The malleability that the Orange exhibited during last year’s season-ending skid vanished, at least for one game, and in its place was a sinewy alter ego reminiscent of the team that made a run to the Pinstripe Bowl two seasons ago.

“There was some physicality out there,” SU head coach Doug Marrone said. “I would say that’s one of the things that we talked about quite a bit (during the bye week). I was happy with that. You’ve got a chance to get better if you play this game in a physical nature.”

And rather than Syracuse leaving the field morally beaten like it did a year ago at Connecticut, it was Pittsburgh and running back Ray Graham exiting the Carrier Dome physically beaten.

Graham is the latest in a long line of explosive Panthers running backs, and he entered the Carrier Dome with three games of more than 200 yards in his career. But Syracuse yielded nothing on Friday. Period. And it often took yards back instead.

Graham’s 24 rushing attempts resulted in 57 net yards, marking the first time in his career he was held under 89 yards while carrying the ball at least 20 times. He limped noticeably in the second half, wearing a brace on his right knee that he fiddled with several times down the stretch as the pep in his step dissolved.

And Pittsburgh’s offense goes as Graham goes, so on this night the Panthers went nowhere. The Orange tallied 10 tackles for loss on Friday, which repeatedly derailed Pittsburgh’s offensive possessions and represented exactly one-eighth of the team’s total tackles for loss in all of 2011.

“It was no secret what they were going to come in the game and do: try their best to pound the ball as much as possible,” Syracuse defensive tackle Jay Bromley said. “They got some plays here and there, but I think for the most part we contained them on the run.”

Supplementing the Orange’s best defensive effort of the season was an effective running game in its own right. Four players combined to rush for 120 yards and a touchdown on Friday, but the spotlight centered on sophomore running back Adonis Ameen-Moore and the newly implemented short-yardage package.

Ameen-Moore rumbled into the end zone for Syracuse’s only offensive touchdown, and his four carries on the final possession of the game resulted in a pivotal first down that sealed a victory.

“It reminds me of my first year when we beat South Florida at South Florida,” offensive tackle Justin Pugh said. “One of those wins where we were gritty at the end. We put the ball in the offense’s hands, and I know we didn’t play good all game, but we stepped up when it counted.”

During that 2010 season, the Orange continually found ways to scrape together victories on the road, with wins over South Florida, a ranked West Virginia team, Cincinnati and Rutgers. It can be argued that Friday was the first time Syracuse imposed its will on an opponent since that loss to Connecticut last November, and also provided the first glimpse of the resolve to win close games that was a staple two years ago.

Marrone said he preached toughness and physicality to his team during the bye week, knowing full well that the Panthers, despite a myriad of coaching changes in the last few years, would remain true to their roots and attempt to out-muscle the Orange.

So when the clock read zeros and Marrone took the podium, it was the grit and determination his team displayed that the head coach said pleased him most about the win. His players agreed.

“I think it was a statement game,” SU defensive end Brandon Sharpe said.

Now let’s see if that statement can be repeated.

Michael Cohen is a staff writer at The Daily Orange, where his column appears occasionally. He can be reached at [email protected], or on Twitter at @Michael_Cohen13. 

Published on October 8, 2012 at 12:10 am