CuseConfidential.com - DC3 runs past Akron looks for more

October 26, 2009

Sean Herlihy
CuseConfidential.com Staff Writer

Mike Williams was out. Greg Paulus' hesitancy to throw the deep ball to his replacements was evident. Clearly, the Syracuse Orange offense needed to be bailed out by a strong running game to beat the Zips. Summon Delone Carter.

The senior running back knew he needed to step up, and his breakout game came at the perfect time for the Orange. Carter literally carried the offense with career highs of 30 carries and 170 yards. He also cashed in for three touchdowns without coughing up the football.

"It was a chance I was waiting for," Carter said. "To get the game on my shoulders and to show what I can do and to build the confidence for me and the offensive lineman and take it to the next level."

Perhaps Carter just loves playing during Parents Weekend at SU. He scored four touchdowns against Wyoming in 2006 on the same annual weekend. Before Saturday, the Wyoming game was the last time a Syracuse player rushed for three or more touchdowns in a game.

Carter's success Saturday came mostly from his tough, bruising running style. He averaged just under six yards per carry, and most came from second efforts after breaking tackles. Carter did explode for one run, a career-long 53 yard dash in the fourth quarter that sealed the Orange victory.

Head Coach Doug Marrone credited Syracuse's offensive line for much of Carter's success against Akron. He said his tailback looked like a different runner on Saturday, and that the o-line finally responded to Marrone's criticism.

"It's almost like he ran with a sense of urgency today, which might have been a little different," Marrone said. "I like to say it's the guys up front. I've been on those guys quite a bit and they did a nice job."

Carter now has 1,380 career rushing yards, which ranks 26th on the Orange all time list. The last time an Orange running back rushed for 150-plus yards was Curtis Brinkley against Louisville in 2008. Brinkley also carried the ball over 30 times in that game.

Although Carter modestly referred to his performance as merely being comfortable out there, tight end Mike Owen saw a different type of runner on Saturday.

"Delone?he's an animal," Owen said. "The whole week I was telling him, 'you know you're going to have a monster game.' He knew it, he believed it, we all believed in him."

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