Greg Robinson never forgot one of the media’s last questions last Sunday. A reporter asked the Syracuse head coach how his team would respond in the season’s final two games after losing bowl eligibility.

He didn’t know the answer until Thursday. Robinson brought his team into the Carrier Dome for a full-pads practice, an unprecedented move in at least the last five years at SU. The first 10 plays came at the goal line, first-team offense vs. first-team defense.

Right then he knew the intensity would carry over into Saturday’s final home game against Connecticut.

Robinson’s offense did just enough as his defense manhandled a weak UConn squad, 20-14, in front of 35,079 on Senior Day at the Dome on Saturday afternoon. The Huskies (4-6, 1-4 Big East) scored a touchdown with four seconds remaining.

The win ended a five-game losing streak and was Syracuse’s first Big East victory since a 43-17 triumph over Boston College in November 2004 under Paul Pasqualoni.

Even though the win came against a school without much success (two winning seasons, one Motor City Bowl appearance) in seven years at the Division I level, Robinson and the players gushed afterward how important the victory was for the program.

Running back Curtis Brinkley said Robinson danced around the winning locker room. Senior punter Brendan Carney cried before the game. Senior linebacker Jerry Mackey cried as the minutes winded down.

‘I’ve been through a lot here, so it’s definitely very emotional for me,’ said Mackey, one of 17 seniors introduced individually before the game. ‘It came early, too, I didn’t even expect it to hit me that early. I saw my parents and my mother and my father and I was just like, man, it’s crazy, I’ve been here so long. It’s crazy, but I’m moving on the next level.’

Brinkley scored both touchdowns for Syracuse (4-7) – a one-yard hop in the opening quarter and an 18-yard reception from Perry Patterson in the third. His backup, freshman Delone Carter, posted his second-career 100-yard game with 115 yards on 16 carries.

Patrick Shadle added field goals in the second and fourth quarters. The Lou Groza award semifinalist’s 16 field goals this season is two shy of Gary Anderson’s school record of 18.

Patterson completed 9-of-18 passes for 143 yards and a touchdown in his final Dome appearance, directing an offense that gained more than 300 yards for the first time in three weeks.

The Orange defense posted five sacks and limited the Huskies to 266 yards (98 on their final drive). UConn’s only threat following a first quarter three-yard touchdown reception by running back Donald Brown was a missed field goal in the second. Safety Joe Fields intercepted two D.J. Hernandez passes in the fourth quarter.

‘We’ve been through a lot,’ Patterson said. ‘The thing is, we do have a Big East championship. We have a bowl game and that’s something that no one can take from us. That 1-10 season was something we had to face because of the coaching change and a lot of other reasons. It just shows the toughness and character of this seniors class. We had a lot of adversity in our face and we just kept fighting and battled through it and we came out with a win today.’

The outcome virtually ended any bowl hopes for Huskies. Though UConn can still finish at .500 with wins over Cincinnati (5-5, 2-3) and No. 10 Louisville (8-1, 3-1), the Big East would probably not have enough bowl slots for six teams.

‘It’s great for Coach Rob, it’s great for the staff, great for the seniors, to get a taste of that first Big East win,’ said Carney, whose last Dome punt was downed at the Connecticut 2 by Nick Chestnut. ‘Who knows how it’s going to turn out from here, but I know the locker room is going crazy right now.’

Just like practice on Thursday. No word on whether Robinson will use the same tactic before Syracuse faces No. 7 Rutgers (9-0, 4-0) next Saturday, a team still in national title contention.

‘Usually on a Thursday it’s just a light day and a mental day but Coach didn’t like the way we were practicing through the rest of the week so he had us run a practice with full pads and it was work that we needed because he didn’t like the way were practicing,’ Patterson said. ‘It felt good the guys came out and competed and it was something that we needed to get this win.’

Published on November 24, 2006 at 12:00 pm