Teammates slapping his helmet and ripping at his jersey, Averin Collier somehow reconvened with Delone Carter on the sideline. Collier had just provided the knockout punch, a 60-yard scamper to seal Syracuse’s 31-13 win over No. 25 Rutgers.

Carter clutched Collier by the shoulders, the two embraced and the moment soaked in. For this team, such moments have been rare this year.

‘When you look at everything we’ve been through and how you attack it mentally and physically,’ Carter said. ‘When you can overcome that, you can be very proud of yourselves.’

One week after being eliminated from bowl contention, Syracuse dominated. Everything that has gone wrong this season went right. The Carrier Dome was a three-hour cloud nine for Syracuse (4-7), a bizarre world of sorts. Rutgers (7-3) is heading to a bowl game. Not Syracuse.

But on Saturday, weeks of pent-up frustration, devastating injuries and adversity were released in front of 36,759 fans on Senior Day. Rutgers was caught in a buzzsaw.

‘We want to get this Syracuse team on a roll and this is the start of it right now,’ said right tackle Josh White. ‘We came in against a Top 25 team with a point to prove.’

Point, proved. Facing the nation’s No. 12-ranked rush defense, Syracuse rang up 213 yards on the ground. Haunted by demoralizing interceptions all season, Greg Paulus (13-of-16 for 142 yards) was sharp in SU’s rotation system at quarterback. And riddled with injuries, the defense invaded Rutgers’ backfield all day. Nine sacks in all.

The Orange wasted no time, racing to a 21-2 start. Touchdown runs by Carter, Antwon Bailey and a play-action pass by Paulus to tight end Carl Cutler buried Rutgers early. Despite a rash of special teams errors, including a blocked punt for a safety, Syracuse set the tempo. Carter and Bailey finally formed the thunder-lighting effect people expected before the season. Carter’s mash and Bailey’s flash kept the Scarlet Knights defense backpedalling all day. Carter rushed for 67 yards on 22 carries. Bailey had 77 on 16 attempts and Collier added 66 on six.

That’s why Carter sought Collier on the sideline. The rushing game, often forgotten and often stymied through the first half of the season, finally busted loose as a collective unit. All three backs scored. All three chipped away at a Rutgers defense that held South Florida to 0.9 yards per carry one week ago.

‘We had a way to put all of our talent on the field at once,’ Carter said. ‘You really saw how explosive we can be when all of our talent is out there at once.’

Still, among the bag of surprises, the biggest had to be the defense. It was impossible to tell that the interior of the unit was gutted out. In SU’s first game without Arthur Jones and Derrell Smith, the defense unloaded blitzes from all directions. Freshman quarterback Tom Savage – a symbol of poise all season for Rutgers – was New York City-tourist lost. In addition to getting sacked nine times, Savage completed only 7-of-12 passes for 66 yards with two interceptions. He had two picks all year before Saturday.

Leading the charge was SU linebacker Doug Hogue (3.5 sacks). After his third sack, Hogue spotted Chandler Jones from the corner of his eye. The two leaped into the air, bumped hips and ‘Another One Bites the Dust’ blasted over the speakers.

The knockout punch came with five minutes left. Safety Mike Holmes snared a tipped ball for his second pick on the day and the next play, Collier iced the game.

Everybody had a different vantage point on Collier’s clinching run. Wideout Alec Lemon said he saw the whole play. He tried to chase down Collier but couldn’t keep up. Josh White, blocking on the right side, couldn’t look up until Collier was in the wide open.

White heard the cheers, saw his ‘little brother’ gliding ahead and he just knew. This game was over. This time, the Orange finished.

‘As soon as I saw him get the first down, I knew he wasn’t going to stop,’ White said. ‘My heart was racing the whole time.’

The elation was contagious after the game. Players loitered on the field longer than usual. The untimely exits – think Mike Williams. The crushing losses – think last week’s 10-9 loss in Louisville. And the seven players succumbing to season-ending injuries in two weeks. It all fed the monster that ravaged Rutgers.

To most, the blowout win is a surprise. Marrone understands that. But to him, it’s not. This was proof of internal change. Finally, there were results reflecting his total overhaul.

‘People may not have seen this coming or whatever they want to say on the outside,’ Marrone said. ‘But I can’t stand here today and say that I didn’t see this coming.’

thdunne@syr.edu

Published on November 24, 2009 at 12:00 pm