LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Before the season began, Greg Robinson stressed improvement. Win or lose, he wanted to see it every day.

Three months later, Robinson finally saw tangible improvements in the Syracuse football team during a 41-17 loss to Louisville.

It took nearly a full season, but the first-year head coach finally thought his team was ready Saturday.

And just as it reached some semblance of a peak, the year ended.

It was another letdown in a season full of letdowns for Orange fans. Just as the team gets going and SU fans can watch a fourth quarter with real hope its team might win, the season ends.

‘As frustrated and disappointed as I am with the way the season has ended, I am excited and looking forward to the future,’ Robinson said. ‘I feel very great about that. I’m sick to my stomach about how this ended because we were close. But I saw a lot of encouraging things out there.’

Syracuse’s fans and possible recruits saw the first encouraging signs in months, too. SU played like a real football team at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium in its best game since a 27-24 loss to Virginia on Sept. 17.

Robinson called Saturday’s loss Syracuse’s first complete team effort. For most of the year, only SU’s defense, which finished No. 20 against the pass in the country, showed up for games.

The offense jumped in Saturday, gaining 302 yards and scoring 17 points. It wasn’t a monumental performance, but with a solid defense, Syracuse just needs a serviceable offense while it recruits more talented players at the skill positions.

Junior quarterback Perry Patterson played his best game of the year, demonstrating that when wide receivers get open and actually catch the ball, he’s a decent D-I quarterback. Patterson made quick reads, had a few nice pump fakes and got rid of the ball faster. He also made a nice touchdown throw to Nick Chestnut on a scramble, putting the ball ahead of the freshman receiver so it couldn’t get intercepted.

If Patterson directs the offense to 17-20 points a game next year with a solid running game and incoming freshman quarterback Andrew Robinson observing, Syracuse can pick up a few more wins and that should be considered a success.

Wide receivers Rice Moss, Tim Lane and Bruce Williams all got open against Louisville and provided Patterson targets to throw to. He responded by throwing the ball fairly well. It wasn’t great, but he got the ball close to his receivers. Lane still struggled dropping the ball, but he’ll likely be replaced in the starting rotation next year by Landel Bembo, Lavar Lobdell, Williams or another receiver who can provide a more consistent threat.

Even greater than Patterson’s performance Saturday, though, was the play-calling by offensive coordinator Brian Pariani.

The former Denver Broncos tight end coach has come under some scrutiny this year for his play suggestions. Prior to Saturday, Syracuse routinely ran a draw play in third down situations. Pariani never seemed to trust his offense to pick up a first down, often insisting that playing a field position battle was more important.

He finally let loose Saturday.

On Syracuse’s first two third-down situations, the Orange faced distances of 11 and 10 yards. Both times, Pariani went to the shotgun with three wide receivers and two tailbacks. The first time Joe Fields missed an open receiver. Patterson found Chestnut for a 36-yard touchdown on the second.

Pariani let Patterson throw the ball more and the offense responded.

It might not seem like a major decision to make, given how defenses stacked players at the line of scrimmage to guard against the run. But considering the play-calling throughout most of the season, the coaching staff seemed to make the right decision Saturday.

Maybe they just needed the wide receivers to get open or Patterson to demonstrate he could hit them for the coaches to make that decision, but it was an adaptation.

Syracuse seemed to get worse each week the season progressed.

That finally stopped. The offense raced out of the huddle quickly, avoided a single delay of game penalty and moved the ball at times. The coaches made adjustments. And everything seemed to come together.

It wasn’t stellar. It wasn’t even good enough for a win. But it was something positive.

And after enduring 10 losses, positive reinforcements come in small doses.

Scott Bisang is a staff writer at The Daily Orange, where his columns appear occasionally. You can e-mail him at smbisang@syr.edu.

Published on November 28, 2005 at 12:00 pm