MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Even when Taj Smith sparkled in the first three games of the season, Perry Patterson never said the junior transfer stood out as his main target.

The quarterback all but used those words to describe Mike Williams after the freshman caught three passes for 99 yards and a touchdown – all in the first half – in Syracuse’s 41-17 loss to No. 4 West Virginia on Saturday.

‘Whenever I’m in trouble, I’m always looking for No. 1,’ said Patterson, referring to Williams’ number. ‘There’s a 50-50 chance he will get it. He’s my main go-to receiver right now.’

Though Williams didn’t turn in any Smith-like plays against the Mountaineers, he outperformed every other teammate on a woeful day for the Orange offense.

Patterson only completed 9-of-21 passes for 146 yards with one touchdown and running backs Curtis Brinkley and Delone Carter gained just 88 combined yards rushing. The offense registered 227 all day – its lowest total since the first game of the season.

Williams, the first Buffalo-area athlete to earn a Division I football scholarship in 11 years, seemed poised to replace Smith as SU’s top pass-catcher given his performance in the last two games – six catches for 93 yards.

While no one can touch Smith as the fastest wideout, Williams’ combination of size and speed in his 6-foot-2, 205-pound frame remains unmatched.

Donte Davis asserted himself with five receptions for 53 yards against Pittsburgh, but the 6-foot-0, 185-pounder didn’t have a catch Saturday. Starters Rice Moss and Tim Lane each had one catch against the Mountaineers but continue to disappoint and as a result, lost playing time. Tight end Tom Ferron entered the game leading the team with 15 receptions but he also only caught one pass.

That leaves Williams, who scored Syracuse’s first touchdown and set up the other, as the latest hope for the receiving core.

Patterson avoided several West Virginia defenders before eventually finding Williams well beyond any member of a clueless secondary on Syracuse’s first possession. The 47-yard score was Williams’ first career touchdown.

‘They just lost me, I guess,’ Williams said. ‘I was supposed to clear the play out (go deep to draw defenders) and it happened I was wide open and Perry threw the ball.’

Williams brought the Orange into Mountaineer territory one possession later when he hauled in a 22-yard slant pass on third-and-17, but Syracuse punted four plays later.

West Virginia’s defense lost Williams again toward the end of the half. The freshman found a soft spot in the zone along the right sideline for a 30-yard reception. Patterson cut the Mountaineers’ lead to 17-14 shortly thereafter on a three-yard keeper.

‘Mike does a great job opening up his whole shoulders to the quarterback,’ Moss said several weeks ago. ‘Once he catches the ball, he gets up field and gets as many yards as he can. He does a good job of catching the ball and making one guy miss.

‘He’s going to be great, I’m telling you right now. He’s going to be great. As soon as he gets that film down and hones in on the fundamentals, his name is going to be out there.’

West Virginia latched on to not only Williams but every potential receiver in the second half as Patterson completed only two passes. But that doesn’t deter Williams’ optimism for the future, especially for him and fellow freshman Davis.

‘We say it all the time in practice, ‘We’re the freshman duo,” Williams said. ‘That’s what we say to each other and we be talking to Delone sometimes, too, and we say, ‘We’re freshmen, we got to blow it up.”

Only Williams accomplished that goal Saturday.

‘He’s still young so I have to get him lined up in certain situations and make sure he’s on the ball,’ Patterson said. ‘So you have to monitor him out there. But once the ball is hiked and he’s gone, he’s one of the top playmakers we have.’

Published on October 15, 2006 at 12:00 pm