Syracuse coach stays calm amid calls for his head; Illinois gears up
Patience has already worn thin at Syracuse, where football coach Greg Robinson's Orange were manhandled in the first two games.
Columnists and bloggers are calling for Robinson's job. It seems everyone in CNY (central New York, for those of us on the outside) is fed up, but Robinson remained calm during interviews before the non-conference game between Syracuse (0-2) and Illinois (1-1) at the Carrier Dome Saturday (11 a.m., ESPNU).
"I'm not mad,'' Robinson said during a weekly press conference. "I'd like things to be better, no question. We all want things to be better. But, mad? No. I don't know what mad does for me.''
If Robinson makes it through this, either Syracuse rebounds for a winning season or he must have pictures of university chancellor Nancy Cantor -- the former Illinois chancellor -- dancing with Chief Illiniwek.
A head coach for the first time, Robinson is a former NFL defensive coordinator who spent one year as the co-coordinator with the Texas Longhorns before jumping to the Syracuse job. He is 5-20 in his third year at Syracuse. After a 4-8 season last fall, Syracuse fell 42-12 to Washington in the opener and 35-0 at Iowa last weekend.
"The thing you've got to understand is they played a pretty good Washington team, and it's sometimes tough to play at Iowa,'' Illinois coach Ron Zook said. "There are a lot of teams that 0-2 against that schedule.''
That doesn't matter to the folks in Syracuse. One blogger didn't like Robinson's "aw shucks,'' calm demeanor in the face of the storm.
"The Gomer Pyle routine isn't cutting it,'' the blogger replied.
And from another blogger, who was later reprimanded by one of his peers for letting a sport topic disintegrate into politics: " 'I just have to stay the course' sounds like another Texan without a clue or strategy.''
The numbers don't back Syracuse. Among the 119 teams in Division I, the Orange rank 117th in rushing offense (16 yards per game), 106th in passing offense (139 yards per game), 117th in total offense (155 yards per game) and 118th in scoring offense (six points per game).
The defense is slightly better, ranking 91st in total defense (426 yards per game) and 103rd in scoring defense (38.5 points per game).
While Zook has a similar 5-20 record in his third season at Illinois, he gave Illini fans hope primarily because of strong recruiting classes, although Robinson wasn't biting when a reporter claimed Illinois was headed in the right direction.
"It's all about perspective,'' Robinson said. "When you talk about they've turned their thing around, I'm not certain how to take that. They're working to get better, just like we are. They're 1-1. We're 0-2. We beat them last year at their place.''
But the quotes from Syracuse personnel would remind Illini fans of the 2003 or 2004 seasons.
"Losing games is going to happen,'' said Syracuse running back Curtis Brinkley. "We just can't continue it. It can't be a 1-10 season. It can't be that way. We have to get on track. Everybody has to want it. If you don't have 11 people on the field that want it, you're going to lose.''
John Supinie can be reached at Johnsupinie@aol.com. For more Illini coverage, see Illini Talk blog at www.sj-r.com <http://www.sj-r.com> and www.pjstar.com <http://www.pjstar.com> .
A look at Syracuse
Record: 0-2.
So far: Lost to Washington 42-12; lost to Iowa 35-0.
Coach: Greg Robinson, 5-20 in third year at Syracuse and overall.
Series: Illinois leads 9-2.
Players to watch: QB Andrew Robinson (278 yards passing), WR Taj Smith (2 TDs last season vs. Illinois), FS Joe Fields (team leader with 16 tackles).
Did you know: John Mackey, a NFL Hall of Fame tight end with the Baltimore Colts, will ahve his No. 88 jersey retired at Syracuse during a halftime ceremony Saturday.
Quote: "The two worst coaching hires of 2004 square off. Greg Robinson (5-20 at Syracuse) and Ron Zook (5-20 at Illinois) compete for the right to give their fans false hope that they're turning things around.'' -- ESPN college analyst Pat Forde.