Game Notes (PDF)
Head Coach Doug Marrone's Press Conference Transcript
The Orange football team will conclude its 2009 season at Connecticut on Saturday, November 28 (12 p.m., BIG EAST Network). It will be the fifth meeting in the series. Syracuse closed its home schedule with a 31-13 victory against then #25 Rutgers.
"We're moving ahead to Connecticut and it's important how we end this season and the way we play,” said head coach Doug Marrone. "We're going to go out and try to get our second BIG EAST win and end this season on a proper note. Every time we play someone in our conference it's important (in recruiting). Everything is important. How we do academically is important. How we carry ourselves, how we introduce ourselves to parents, how we communicate, the support of the community and the school – there's not really anything that goes by. Just think about the people in the room who are parents and they take their son or daughter to a school, they're observing everything that goes on, not just two plus two equals four, or whatever it may be. They're looking at the people they're going to trust with their son for the next four or five years."
Orange junior linebacker Doug Hogue earned the Walter Camp Football Foundation’s Defensive Player of the Week honor and was named the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week for his record-setting performance against the Scarlet Knights. Hogue established a Syracuse record with 6.5 tackles for loss. He sets the pace for the Orange defense, which ranks ninth nationally and leads the BIG EAST in run defense, allowing just 92.5 yards per contest. It has allowed only one opposing rusher to gain more than 100 yards (Dion Lewis, Pitt, 110 yards).
Sophomore running back Antwon Bailey earned a spot on the conference Weekly Honor Roll for his performance against the Scarlet Knights. He gained 181 all-purpose yards, including 77 yards on 16 carries and his first touchdown of the season. He also averaged 28.5 yards on two kickoff returns, including a career-long 27-yard return, and caught three passes for 47 yards.
"Looking at the Rutgers game, obviously we're extremely pleased with the outcome,” Marrone said. “We had a lot of players who deserve a lot of credit. We have two players who have been recognition, and one nationally in Doug Hogue and Antwon Bailey. Really, Doug’s performance goes with the performance of everyone on that defense. Antwon really stepped up, too, with his 181 all-purpose yards. We had a lot of good play on both sides of the ball.”
Connecticut is 5-5 on the season after beating Notre Dame in double overtime, 33-30, which snapped its three-game losing streak.
"From what I've seen of them, and I've watched more of their offense right now, they're big up front. They're physical, they have two very good runners,” Marrone said. “They have a good receiving corps and a quarterback who manages the game well. When looking at the Notre Dame game, they did a very good job of that. I'm sure they will try to play physical, as well as everyone else. Rutgers tried to play physical. It's easier to play physical when you have the lead. The one thing about Connecticut is that they'll play physical even when they go down by a couple of scores."