2007 Syracuse Orange football team

American college football season August 2023 February 2026 football 2007 Syracuse Orange Syracuse Orange logo.svg 100 Big East Conference Big East Conference (1979–2013) Big East 2–10 1–6 Greg Robinson 3rd Brian White 2nd Multiple Steve Russ 1st 4–3 Carrier Dome The 2007 Syracuse Orange football team competed in football on behalf of Syracuse University during the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Orange were coached by Greg Robinson and played their home games at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York. Schedule 2007 AP Eastern August 31 8:00 pm l y Washington Carrier Dome Syracuse, New York ESPN 12-42 40,329 September 8 8:00 pm l y y Iowa Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, Iowa BTN 0-35 70,585 September 15 12:00 pm l y Illinois Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY ESPNU 20-41 34,188 September 22 12:00 pm w y Louisville 18 Papa John's Cardinal Stadium Louisville, Kentucky ESPN+ 38-35 40,922 September 29 3:00 pm l y y Miami (OH) Yager Stadium Oxford, Ohio ONN 14–17 16,800 October 6 12:00 pm l West Virginia 13 Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY rivalry ESPN+ 14-55 35,345 October 13 12:00 pm l Rutgers Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY ESPN+ 14-38 36,226 October 20 4:00 pm w y Buffalo Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY ESPNU 20-12 30,897 November 3 12:00 pm l y Pittsburgh Heinz Field Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania rivalry ESPN+ 17-20 31,374 November 10 12:00 pm l South Florida Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY ESPN+ 10-41 38,039 November 17 12:00 pm l y Connecticut 25 Rentschler Field East Hartford, Connecticut rivalry ESPN2 7-30 40,000 November 24 7:15 pm l Cincinnati 24 Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY ESPNU 31-52 30,040 http://suathletics.com/schedules.asp?path=football&year=2007%7CFootball Schedule 2019-08-28 https://web.archive.org/web/20110727062404/http://suathletics.com/schedules.asp?path=football&year=2007%7CFootball 2011-07-27 dead Game summaries Washington 2007 Washington Huskies football team Huskies 0 14 21 7 Orange 3 3 0 6 Syracuse opened the 2007 season with a 42-14 loss to Washington in the Carrier Dome. The Orange began the game with a field goal and managed to hold the Huskies at bay for their first two drives. However, after back-to-back three-and-outs, Washington responded with two touchdown drives of 80 yards apiece. The Huskies scored on each of their three drives in the third quarter to take a 35-6 lead into the fourth quarter. Freshman quarterback Andrew Robinson registered 199 yards in his first career start on 20-of-32 passing. Robinson was also sacked seven times. Washington was led on the ground by Louis Rankin. The senior ran for 152 yards on 17 carries. Rankin scored three touchdowns, including a 47-yard run on the opening drive of the third quarter. Huskies quarterback Jake Locker completed 14-of-19 passes for 142 yards. He also ran for two touchdowns in the win. Washington outgained Syracuse 302-8 on the ground. "We went on defense and had a chance to make a four or five-yard loss on a run and we missed the tackle," said Orange head coach Greg Robinson after the game. "We had the tackle, but we didn't secure it and let the guy out the backside and that's just the discipline of the defense not having backside containment to let that guy out the backdoor. Really I thought for a period of time we kept shooting ourselves in the foot on both sides of the ball. I give credit to Washington. They did a good job."SU Athletics - Head Coach Greg Robinson's Post Game Press ConferenceAugust 2026 InternetArchiveBot Iowa 2007 Iowa Hawkeyes football team Orange 0 0 0 0 Hawkeyes 14 14 7 0 thumb|left|200px|Iowa's defense lines up against Syracuse on September 9, 2007. Syracuse and Iowa met in a rematch of the 2006 thriller in the Carrier Dome. The Orange fell 20-13 in double overtime to the Hawkeyes, after the 'Cuse couldn't score on seven attempts from inside the two-yard line. The 2007 meeting between the two teams was the exact opposite of the 2006 matchup. Behind a strong defensive performance, the Hawkeyes shut out the Syracuse Orange 35-0 at Kinnick Stadium. Rebounding from a shaky performance against Northern Illinois, Christensen threw for 278 yards and four touchdowns, three of them to tight end Tony Moeaki. After a punt on their opening drive, the Hawkeyes scored three consecutive touchdowns, two on passes of more than 30 yards. Iowa quarterback Jake Christensen connected with Tony Moeaki on a 52-yard touchdown pass to give the Hawkeyes a 7-0 lead. Christensen found running back Albert Young for a 36-yard touchdown reception a drive later, after Iowa picked off Syracuse in its own half of the field. The one bright spot for the 'Cuse came on the defensive end. Despite giving up 35 points in the defeat, Syracuse caught two interceptions and forced on fumble. The first interception came late in the first half off a pass from Christensen. Syracuse's scoring chances were limited to two field goal attempts. Orange kicker Patrick Shadle had a 38 and a 39 yard attempt blocked in the loss. On special teams, Kenny Iwebema blocked two field goals to help preserve the worst loss for Syracuse coach Greg Robinson in his tenure with the Orange. The 35-point loss was Syracuse's most-lopsided since a 51–14 loss to Georgia Tech in the 2004 Champs Sports Bowl. After the game, Syracuse running back Curtis Brinkley said: We need to be a lot more fundamentally sound, there were a lot of missed assignments and there were a lot of people not hitting their targets. There's a little bit of everything we need to fix up. Illinois 2007 Illinois Fighting Illini football team Fighting Illini 14 3 17 7 Orange 0 0 10 10 Syracuse's second straight Big Ten opponent came when the 'Cuse met Illinois. The Orange had defeated the Illini a year before, 31-21 in Champaign. Much like the previous week in Iowa, Syracuse struggled to stop the Illinois offense. The Illini opened the game with a 70-yard drive for a touchdown. Illinois scored after six plays, the last a 22-yard touchdown pass from Juice Williams to tight end Jeff Cumberland. The Illini scored later in the first quarter on a 2-yard run by Rashard Mendenhall. Mendenhall wasn't through there. He ran for two more touchdowns in the win, including a 50-yard run late in the third quarter. Mendenhall totaled 150 yards on 16 carries and finished with 3 touchdowns. Offensively for Syracuse, the Orange started out slow. Syracuse didn't record a first down until the second quarter and didn't break through until the third quarter when kicker Patrick Shadle kicked for a 44-yard field goal. Syracuse scored a touchdown later in the third off a 2-yard run by Jeremy Sellers. The offensive improvements were outdone by Iowa. The Hawkeyes finished the game with scores of their last five possessions. Three of those drive resulted in touchdowns. "Obviously, I’m frustrated and I want to keep working and getting better," said Syracuse head coach Greg Robinson after the game. "There were some things in that game that we can still grow from and obviously we’re a team that is a work-in-progress, big time. I thought there were some things that were encouraging – especially on offensive side of the ball. I saw a couple of things on defense from a couple of young players and we’ll see what happens."SU Athletics – Head Coach Greg Robinson QuotesAugust 2026 InternetArchiveBot Louisville 2007 Louisville Cardinals football team Orange 7 14 10 7 Cardinals 0 7 7 21 Syracuse delivered its first win of the 2007 season on the road in Louisville. The Orange upset the #18/19 Cardinals 38-35, thanks to an incredible offensive performance. Freshman quarterback Andrew Robinson set the pace of the game early when he connected with wide receiver Taj Smith for a 79-yard touchdown reception on the first play. The scoring halted until the second quarter when Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm completed a 4-yard touchdown pass to Scott Kuhn. On the ensuing kickoff, Syracuse's Max Suter broke a tackle and sprinted for a 93-yard touchdown return, the first since Kevin Johnson returned a kick for 100 yards against Miami in 1998. Miami (OH) 2007 Miami RedHawks football team Orange 0 0 7 7 RedHawks 0 14 0 3 West Virginia 2007 West Virginia Mountaineers football team Mountaineers 14 17 10 14 Orange 7 0 7 0 Rutgers Rutgers Scarlet Knights football Scarlet Knights 7 17 0 14 Orange 14 0 0 0 Buffalo 2007 Buffalo Bulls football team Bulls 3 0 3 6 Orange 3 14 0 3 Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Panthers football Orange 0 3 7 7 Panthers 0 10 0 10 South Florida 2007 South Florida Bulls football team Bulls 7 13 21 0 Orange 0 3 7 0 Connecticut 2007 Connecticut Huskies football team Orange 0 0 0 7 Huskies 14 7 3 6 Cincinnati 2007 Cincinnati Bearcats football team Bearcats 14 14 14 10 Orange 3 14 14 0 Rankings 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings 15 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 4 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 7 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR Coaching staff Greg Robinson - Head Coach/Co-Defensive Coordinator Mitch Browning - Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends & Offensive Tackles Derrick Jackson - Co-Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Line Phil Earley - Quarterbacks Dan Conley - Linebackers Jim Salgado - Cornerbacks/Secondary Scott Spencer - Safeties Randy Trivers - Running Backs Chris White - Wide Receivers Chris Wiesehan - Offensive Line Statistics Team Team Opp Scoring 197 418   Points per game 16.4 34.8 First downs 181 287   Rushing 58 122   Passing 112 146   Penalty 11 19 Total offense 3503 5625   Avg per play 4.6 6.2   Avg per game 291.9 468.8 Fumbles-Lost 24-10 11-5 Penalties-Yards 85-707 109-885   Avg per game 58.9 73.8 Team Opp Punts-Yards 80-3356 52-2025   Avg per punt 42.0 38.9 Time of possession/Game 27:31 32:29 3rd down conversions 46/164 28% 82/174 47% 4th down conversions 7/18 39% 6/13 46% Touchdowns scored 24 53 Field goals-Attempts 10-14 71% 16-22 73% PAT-Attempts 23-24 96% 52-53 98% Attendance 245,064 199,681   Games/Avg per Game 7/35,009 5/39,936 Scores by quarter Syracuse 37 51 62 47 Opponents 87 130 103 98 Offense Rushing Name GP-GS Att Gain Loss Net Avg TD Long Avg/G Curtis Brinkley 8-8 111 416 45 371 3.3 2 29 46.4 Doug Hogue 9-4 77 275 24 251 3.3 1 20 27.9 Paul Chiara 12-0 21 97 2 95 4.5 1 22 7.9 Jeremy Sellers 12-0 21 50 1 49 2.3 1 9 4.1 Max Suter 12-1 9 42 4 38 4.2 0 12 3.2 Derrell Smith 12-0 10 28 6 22 2.2 0 8 1.8 Taj Smith 12-12 5 16 0 16 3.2 0 7 1.3 Tony Fiammetta 11-8 3 8 0 8 2.7 0 4 0.7 John Barker 12-0 1 3 0 3 3.0 0 3 0.2 Cameron Dantley 8-1 13 12 35 -23 -1.8 0 6 -2.9 TEAM 9-0 9 0 38 -38 -4.2 0 0 -4.2 Andrew Robinson 11-11 95 273 312 -39 -0.4 0 18 -3.5 Total 12 375 1220 467 753 2.0 5 29 62.8 Opponents 12 515 2687 193 2494 4.8 30 75 207.8 Passing Name GP-GS Effic Att-Cmp-Int Pct Yds TD Lng Avg/G Andrew Robinson 11-11 125.69 154-292-7 52.7 2192 13 79 199.3 Cameron Dantley 8-1 117.08 48-90-3 53.3 558 5 56 69.8 TEAM 9-0 0.00 0-1-0 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 Total 12 123.34 202-383-10 52.7 2750 18 79 229.2 Opponents 12 147.07 267-393-9 67.9 3131 20 63 260.9 Receiving Name GP-GS No. Yds Avg TD Long Avg/G Mike Williams 12-12 60 837 13.9 10 61 69.8 Taj Smith 12-12 44 822 18.7 5 79 68.5 Jawad Nesheiwat 12-10 17 270 15.9 2 48 22.5 Rice Moss 12-1 13 150 11.5 0 20 12.5 Paul Chiara 12-0 12 93 7.8 0 20 7.8 Tony Fiammetta 11-8 12 75 6.2 0 15 6.8 Curtis Brinkley 8-8 9 149 16.6 0 62 18.6 Da'Mon Merkerson 10-1 8 101 12.6 1 42 10.1 Lavar Lobdell 12-0 8 86 10.8 0 14 7.2 Mike Owen 12-3 5 51 10.2 0 18 4.2 Dan Sheeran 12-1 4 24 6.0 0 13 2.0 Doug Hogue 9-4 3 31 10.3 0 19 3.4 Jeremy Sellers 12-0 2 31 15.5 0 27 2.6 Arthur Kapalanga 11-0 2 15 7.5 0 10 1.4 Derrell Smith 12-0 2 8 4.0 0 9 0.7 Kyle Bell 2-0 1 7 7.0 0 7 3.5Total 12 202 2750 13.6 18 79 229.2Opponents 12 267 3131 11.7 20 63 260.9 Defense Leaders Note: This list includes only a select number of defensive leaders. For the complete list, click https://web.archive.org/web/20080820042052/http://suathletics.com/Sports/Football/2007/2007fbstats.asp August 20, 2008 Name GP-GS Tackles Sacks Pass defense Interceptions Fumbles BlkdKick Solo Ast Total TFL-Yds No-Yds BrUp QBH No.-Yds Avg TD Long Rcv-Yds FF Joe Fields 12-12 53 44 97 2.5-4 0.0-0 2 1 4-62 15.5 0 35 1-0 0 0 Jake Flaherty 12-12 45 50 95 6.5-26 1.0-6 0 0 0-0 0.0 0 0 0-0 0 0 Jameel McClain 12-12 39 38 77 6.0-24 1.5-12 3 4 1-38 38.0 0 38 1-0 2 1 Mike Holmes 12-8 40 24 64 2.0-3 0.0-0 2 0 0-0 0.0 0 0 0-0 0 0 Arthur Jones 11-11 32 19 51 17.5-43 1.0-4 0 0 0-0 0.0 0 0 0-0 0 1 Total 12 556 387 943 63-197 9-65 21 8 9-213 23.7 0 52 5-2 8 4 Opponents 12 458 282 740 87-411 54-324 41 25 10-114 11.4 2 49 10-16 12 3 Special teams Name Punting Kickoffs No. Yds Avg Long TB FC I20 Blkd No. Yds Avg TB OB Rob Long 75 3139 41.9 73 8 22 21 0 -- -- -- -- -- John Barker 4 217 54.2 71 1 0 3 0 -- -- -- -- -- TEAM 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 1 -- -- -- -- -- Patrick Shadle -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 44 2484 56.5 0 1 Total 80 3356 42.0 73 9 22 24 1 44 2484 56.5 0 1 Opponents 52 2025 38.9 63 3 20 22 0 78 4835 62.0 5 1 Name Punt returns Kick returns No. Yds Avg TD Long No. Yds Avg TD Long Max Suter -- -- -- -- -- 51 1299 25.5 1 93 Mike Holmes -- -- -- -- -- 14 352 25.1 0 64 Bruce Williams 5 13 2.6 0 11 -- -- -- -- -- Randy McKinnon -- -- -- -- -- 3 54 18.0 0 23 Ryan Howard 3 32 10.7 0 13 1 4 4.0 0 4 Paul Chiara 2 1 0.5 0 1 -- -- -- -- -- Total 10 46 4.6 0 13 69 1709 24.8 1 93 Opponents 33 430 13.0 0 53 41 906 22.1 0 64 References Syracuse Category:Syracuse Orange football seasons Syracuse Orange football