Lieberman: Williams, Paulus get Orange first win

After a year of disappointment — and probably depression for some Orange faithful — Syracuse… After a year of disappointment — and probably depression for some Orange faithful — Syracuse finally notched its first victory under new head coach Doug Marrone in a 37-34 win over Northwestern.

Two players, wide receiver Mike Williams and quarterback Greg Paulus, led the Orange offensive attack. Williams caught 11 passes for 209 yards, and Paulus threw for 346 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another.

The impressive part is neither of those players played football last year.

Paulus made national headlines after he transitioned from Duke point guard to Syracuse quarterback. Switching sports isn’t easy, but what made it more difficult, Marrone said, was that Paulus didn’t start practicing with the team until the summer.

“It’s unbelievable to me that he’s only really been practicing football since we started the preseason six or seven weeks ago,” Marrone said in a teleconference. “To go against [a Northwestern team] that returned eight of 11 starters on defense and to have one of the best passing performances in recent memory here is incredible.”

Williams, on the other hand, was suspended for violating the Syracuse’s Academic Integrity Policy last fall. Williams said in reports he was caught cheating after he had his notes on his desk before an exam.

The 2007 all-Big East second team selection was required to take classes and maintain a C-average in them while away from Syracuse. He had to prove to the school that he learned from his mistake before he could re-apply for the spring 2009 semester.

Williams earned Bs and is now back as Syracuse’s leading receiver after a year off.

“I think it’s a credit to both of those players and the position coaches, getting them caught up to speed and getting them out there and competing,” Marrone said.

In other news, it was a sad week to be a South Florida fan. Bulls quarterback, senior Matt Grothe, arguably their best player, suffered a torn ACL, ending his senior season.

Grothe will apply for a medical redshirt. But because he redshirted his freshman year, it looks like the career of the Big East’s all-time leader in yards is probably over.

On to this week’s question and awards:

Pitt Football Question of the Week:

Pitt held Navy to 129 yards rushing on Saturday. Tell me, what’s the lowest number of rushing yards Pitt has allowed in a single game? Remember to e-mail rjl25@pitt.edu with responses and check back for the answer next week.

Last week’s answer: Thank you to senior Anthony Imbrogno, who provided the correct answer: Julius Dawkins (against Cincinnati and Army) in 1981, and Billy Davis (Rutgers) in 1994. Each caught four touchdown passes in one game for the Panthers.

Big East Player of the Week (Offensive)

Mike Williams, Syracuse – Williams had 11 catches for a whopping 209 yards and two touchdowns in the Orange’s thrilling 37-34 victory over Northwestern.

Big East Player of the Week (Defensive)

Dan Mason, Pitt – Mason had 11 tackles and two sacks in his first start, but the entire Pitt defense deserves this award as they allowed 129 rushing yards and notched six sacks.

Random Stat of the Week

Williams’ 200-yard performance is the first for a Syracuse player since Nov. 9, 2002. That’s when Super Bowl XLII hero David Tyree — the guy who caught Eli Manning’s improbable pass against his helmet — recorded 229 yards against Virginia Tech.

Rankings of Power – Week 3

1. Cincinnati (Last week: 28-18 win at Oregon State) – The Bearcats are to No. 14 in the polls after an impressive victory over Oregon State, which hadn’t lost a non-conference game at home since 1996.

2. Pitt (Last week: 27-14 win over Navy) – Offense looked good, defense looked sensational, and Pitt is 3-0 for the first time since 2000.

3. West Virginia (Last week: 41-30 loss at Auburn) – The Mountaineers blew tons of chances to put away Auburn. Luckily, they have a bye week to solve their turnover woes.

4. Connecticut (Last week: 30-22 win at Baylor) — The Huskies got back to doing what they do best: Running the ball and playing solid defense.

5. South Florida (Last week: 59-0 win over Charleston State) – Big win, big loss. The Bulls look to redshirt freshman B.J. Daniels to try to replace Grothe the rest of the way.

6. Syracuse (Last week: 34-31 win over Northwestern) – The battle of the journalism schools went the Orange’s way. Teams should be wary of them throughout the year.

7. Rutgers (Last week: 23-15 win over Florida International) — Didn’t dominate against a terrible team like many thought they would. That’s why Rutgers slips this week.

8. Louisville (Last week: 31-27 loss at Kentucky) – They didn’t look bad against Kentucky but still lost, and Steve Kragthorpe is counting down his days as head coach.

Week 4 Preview

South Florida (3-0) at No. 18 Florida State (2-1): Do the Bulls have a chance to pull this off even without Grothe? Sure, but it’s very, very unlikely after FSU hammered Brigham Young.

Rutgers (2-1) at Maryland (1-2): Rutgers needs to get it together against someone other than one of the bottom five programs in the country.

Fresno State (1-2) at No. 14 Cincinnati (3-0): The Bulldogs are an interesting team after competitive losses to Wisconsin and Boise State. They could give Cincinnati a run.

Louisville (1-1) at Utah (2-1): Utah is about a 14-point favorite at home. For the record, I think it should be 41.

Maine (2-1) at Syracuse (1-2): The Orange go for their first two-game winning streak since 2006.

Rhode Island (1-1) at Connecticut (2-1): Weak front seven means plenty of rushing yards for the Huskies.

Bye: West Virginia (2-1)

Get your name in the column, e-mail question answers to Randy at rjl25@pitt.edu