Akron 42, Syracuse 28

The last time Akron rolled into town, it was to hand Syracuse perhaps its most embarrassing loss in the last 10 years. In front of 31,808 at the Carrier Dome on Sept. 6, 2008, the Zips demoralized the Orange defense to the tune of 478 total yards, 29 first downs and six touchdowns in a 42-28 loss.

‘There’s no excuses for it,’ then-head coach Greg Robinson said following the loss. ‘I just think that really, we like to think we were prepared. Obviously, we weren’t.’

The Zips started the game like a house on fire, scoring their first touchdown less than four minutes into the first quarter. Akron quarterback Chris Jacquemain hit wide receiver Andre Jones on a 33-yard touchdown strike to put the team up, 7-0. After stonewalling the Orange on defense, the Zips rounded out the quarter with a seven-play 79-yard drive, capped by a Dennis Kennedy touchdown run to put Akron up by two scores.

For a moment in the second quarter, it looked as though the Orange would claw its way back into the game, despite the sizable disadvantage. SU quarterback Cam Dantley hit tight end Mike Owen for a 32-yard touchdown early in the second, and running back Curtis Brinkley punched in a one-yard run a few minutes later.

However, the Zips methodical drives allowed them to go blow-for-blow with the Orange in the second quarter, and coast into halftime with a 14-point lead. Jacquemain – who finished the game 20-for-26 for 260 yards and three touchdowns – was too much for the beleaguered Orange secondary, completing passes to six different wide receivers during the course of the game.

‘They were calling the right plays on our defenses, we were making mistakes,’ then-senior safety A.J. Brown, said. ‘They capitalized on our mistakes.’

Dantley, in his own right, did enough to at least keep the Orange competitive, throwing for three touchdowns and 135 yards passing. Curtis Brinkley – who enjoyed a career year in 2008 – paced the team’s offense with 143 yards rushing and one touchdown.

But nothing could plug the gaping hole in the Orange defense. The Zips gained an astounding 6.6 yards per play and punted just twice, possessing the ball for more almost eight minutes more than the Orange.

Fans began leaking out of the Dome in large numbers midway through the fourth quarter, so they didn’t get to see the Zips tack on two more scores to cap off just their second win over a BCS conference team in school history.

Jacquemain hit Andre Jones once more, this time from 12 yards out, to cap a 10-play 78-yard drive. Then, Jacquemain struck again, finding Merce Poindexter in the end zone from 18 yards out.

For Robinson, who was in his final season as SU’s head coach, the loss was inexplicable. Something he was never able to ultimately recover from.

‘The fans have every right to be upset and be disappointed,’ Robinson said. ‘What can I say?’

– Compiled by asst. sports editor Conor Orr

Published on October 22, 2009 at 12:00 pm