Thursday, September 7 Surprising Syracuse hanging tough in Big East By Bill Doherty Special to ESPN.com

When he succeeded Dick MacPherson as Syracuse's head coach back in 1991, Paul Pasqualoni joked that he had been one of the worst linebackers in Penn State history.

Perhaps college football is like baseball, where utility infielders and backup catchers often make the best managers or coaches. Because while he won't find his name alongside Jack Ham, Shane Conlan or LaVar Arrington as one of the all-time greats in the history of Linebacker U., Pasqualoni has turned into one of the finest football coaches in the East. During his tenure with the Orangemen, Pasqualoni sports a .725 winning percentage and has taken Syracuse to two Fiesta Bowls, the Orange Bowl and three other bowls.

	Madei Williams is one part of a QB tandem at Syracuse.

But this season -- Year 1 A.D. (After Donovan ... McNabb, of course) -- was supposed to be the year that Syracuse's balloon burst. Instead, Pasqualoni has turned in perhaps his finest coaching job to date in Carrier Dome country. He has ridden an aggressive, hard-nosed defense and the effective but often-questioned quarterback rotation of Madei Williams and Troy Nunes to a 4-1 record (the school's best start since 1995). Syracuse's only loss came by an 18-13 count to now-No. 3 Michigan.

"A lot of people expected Syracuse to tumble this year, but their 4-1 start is a credit to Paul Pasqualoni, his staff and the level of athletes that he recruits at Syracuse," said Pittsburgh coach Walt Harris, whose 3-1 Panthers host the once-beaten and 17th-ranked Orangemen this Thursday on ESPN (8 p.m. ET). "They've had an impressive run over the last 10 to 15 years during the MacPherson-Pasqualoni era."

This year, the winning has continued, thanks in large part to a pair of outstanding cornerbacks in junior Will Allen and senior David Byrd and an active, speedy cadre of linebackers. Last week, Allen was assigned to cover one of the nation's most productive receivers (Tulane's JaJuan Dawson) all day, all over the field. Dawson, who came into the game averaging 12 catches and 134 yards per game, had caught seven balls for 204 yards vs. the Orangemen back in 1997. Allen "held" Dawson to nine catches for 120 yards in Syracuse's easier-than-expected 47-17 victory last weekend.

"The fact that we have two real good cover corners in Byrd and Allen allows us to involve one of our safeties in the run defense a whole lot," said Pasqualoni. "Having eight guys in the box makes us tough to run on, and we're able to do that because Byrd and Allen are both 4.3-in-the-40-type guys. Their speed allows them to recover from a lot of their mistakes."

And with eight guys in the box, including the ultra-active linebacking group of junior Marlon Greenwood, seniors Vernon Banks and Keith Bulluck, as well as super true freshman Clifton Smith, the Orange have been tough to move the football on. Guys like Bulluck (104 tackles in 1998) and Greenwood (55 tackles last year) were known commodities, but the 250-pound Smith, a hard-hitting middle linebacker, has been a revelation. Oddly enough, Pasqualoni has plucked two of his linebackers -- Greenwood and Smith -- from the same high school, Freeport (N.Y.).

"Clifton Smith is a rare freshman who is physically and mentally tough enough to play middle linebacker as a true freshman," said Pasqualoni of his star recruit, who chose the Orangemen over Miami (Fla.) and Notre Dame. "He's a rare, rare talent who is well-schooled in the fundamentals, just like Morlon was at Freeport High."

Harris, who will see his fill of this defense Thursday, has nothing but praise for Pasqualoni's current group of heat-seeking missiles at linebacker.

"They're an impressive group," said Harris. "Bulluck is outstanding. Greenwood is a player who doesn't get enough credit, but is a great football player. Banks is the type of athlete that we'd love to have here at Pittsburgh. And if that's not enough, they sometimes move Bulluck to weakside linebacker and put that huge true freshman (Smith) in the middle. All four of those guys bring it."

But perhaps the biggest credit to Pasqualoni is that his offense appears to be coming on strong each week, despite a number of injuries at wide receiver and the fact that McNabb, fullback Rob Konrad and wide receiver Kevin Johnson were all high NFL draft picks last spring.

Replacing McNabb wasn't thought to be a one-man job, but Pasqualoni has used two young quarterbacks and has been able to move the ball and keep both guys happy -- which is nearly as amazing a feat as Syracuse's 4-1 start. Williams, a sophomore, has completed 23 of 42 throws for 401 yards and two scores, while redshirt freshman Nunes is 35 for 64 for 558 yards and six TDs.

"The quarterback situation has worked out better than I could have imagined," said Pasqualoni. "Both of these guys deserve to play, and we're going to continue to do it this way. They both pull for one another and have handled this situation in a mature manner. And they both bring different strengths to the table for us. They've both been great thus far."

Their coach hasn't been too shabby either.

Battle of the Sunshine State
With Florida falling from the ranks of the unbeaten vs. Alabama last Saturday at The Swamp, Florida State now owns the nation's longest home winning streak at 26. The Seminoles' last loss at Doak Campbell Stadium was the infamous "Wide Right" 17-16 loss to Miami (Fla.) back in 1991. Any chance that the Hurricanes can pull the upset this Saturday in Tallahassee (ABC, noon ET) over the top-ranked Seminoles?

Florida State coach Bobby Bowden, for one, thinks the bye week after late-in-the-game losses to unbeatens Penn State and East Carolina will help the Hurricances.

"The week off gives them plenty of time to correct the mistakes they're making and they'll have worked for two weeks against our stuff," said Bowden.

The Hurricanes probably needed the extra seven days just to heal up. Part of the reason for their second-half collapse vs. East Carolina were injuries to the team's best defensive lineman Damione Lewis as well as to stud linebackers Dan Morgan and Nate Webster. All three left the East Carolina game and were replaced by freshmen.

"Those three guys will be back," said Miami coach Butch Davis. "The bye week helped us because it gave us some time to get healthy. Thirteen guys wouldn't have been able to go if we played against Florida State last weekend. And we'll need all the healthy bodies we can get, because this is the most talented Florida State team that I've seen since I've been back here."

Two things to watch in this clash of big-time Florida-based program: 1) How well sophomore quarterback Kenny Kelly handles the blitz packages that the Noles will undoubtedly throw at him; and 2) How well the Hurricanes' secondary holds up against Florida State's deep corps of wide receivers, led by Peter Warrick (the current Heisman co-favorite, along with Georgia Tech quarterback Joe Hamilton). The Seminoles figure to blitz the dickens out of Kelly after he struggled at times against the pressure put on him by Penn State and East Carolina. Kelly was 7 for 20 in the second half vs. the Pirates.

On the other side of the ball, Warrick causes Davis some Maalox moments as he watches the tape of last week's Duke game. Warrick caught three TDs and threw for another in a 51-23 romp over Duke. But the Seminoles know that Miami is no Duke.

"We know for a fact that this isn't going to be a cakewalk," said Florida State safety Abdual Howard. "Just watch them and you can tell Miami is capable of beating any team in the country. We think they are becoming the Miami of old."

Fine off the pine
When Clemson quarterback Brandon Streeter suffered a broken collarbone in the first quarter of last week's 31-20 win over North Carolina, many thought any 1999 bowl hopes the Tigers harbored had just gone up in smoke. Not so fast. Sure, the Tigers will miss the leadership of Streeter, a quarterback under whom Clemson was the second-best passing team in the ACC, but quick-footed Woodrow Dantzler came off the bench to throw for 131 yards and one score (a 49-yard pass to Rod Gardner) and rushed 11 times for 82 yards and another score for the Tigers.

"I think there's no doubt the players can now go into the next game with confidence that Woody can move the team and win the game," said Clemson coach Tommy Bowden. "There shouldn't be any doubt or indecisiveness going into the N.C. State game. Woody has the ability to get the job done, if his teammates continue to do their job."

Bowden was no doubt referring to the Clemson defense, which held North Carolina to 2.8 yards per carry, sacked Tar Heels quarterback Ronald Curry seven times and came up with four interceptions.

Tech-nical knockout
Spurred on by the pregame comments of Virginia offensive guard Noel LaMontagne that their defense was "a big fish in a small pond (the Big East)," Virginia Tech's defense held All-American candidate Thomas Jones to 83 yards on 23 carries and recorded six sacks of Cavaliers quarterback Dan Ellis in a 31-7 shellacking of Virginia in Charlottesville.

The Hokies, who moved up to No. 5 in both polls, won the postgame war of words, too. Said Tech linebacker Jamel Smith: "Looks like they are a small fish in a big pond."

All-American defensive end Corey Moore added: "Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's two weeks in a row we've beaten up on an ACC team."

This week, Tech figures to hold on to its lofty perch in both polls as it travels to play Rutgers, a team the Hokies have outscored 106-26 in their past two meetings. Tech's No. 5 ranking is the highest by a Big East team since Miami (Fla.) was rated No. 3 in the last regular season poll back in 1994.

"If we take one game at a time, and that means not looking past Rutgers to Syracuse, then I think we can win every game on our schedule," said Moore.

In addition to play of their stingy defense and the accurate passing of redshirt freshman Michael Vick, another bright spot in the lopsided win over Virginia was the inspired play of sophomore wide receiver Andre Davis. The reigning Atlantic 10 Conference 100-meter sprint champ, Davis caught two balls for 110 yards and one TD.

"If I were Andre, I'd pay close attention to how much money Antonio Freeman is making in the NFL," says Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer. "Andre has more speed (than Freeman) and has pro-type ability."

Extra points
Bad news for the ACC: Florida State coach Bobby Bowden signed a five-year contract extension for a reported $1.5 million per year. Bowden, 69, was in the final year of his current five-year deal. ... Besides the Hamilton vs. Warrick Heisman debate, the biggest question gripping the ACC looks like it'll be "Who's on Third?" Translation: Florida State and Georgia Tech are clearly the top two teams in the ACC and two of the most explosive teams in the entire land, but there is no clear-cut, third-place team at this point, and probably won't be for another month or so. ... After rallying to beat winless Rutgers 17-10 last weekend, Wake Forest sits at 3-1, its best start since 1987. Senior running back Morgan Kane has been the main weapon in Wake's new run-based attack. Kane has rushed for 543 yards in the Demon Deacons' first four games (135.8 yards per game). Kane is Wake Forest's first 500-yard rusher since John Leach back in 1993. "They're a real physical football team and Morgan Kane is a big-time runner," said Rutgers coach Terry Shea. ... From the strange-but-true department: While the once-mighty Pac-10 doesn't have a single team ranked in the Top 25, two teams from so-called lesser conferences -- Marshall (tied for No. 15) and East Carolina (No. 18 ESPN/USA Today coaches poll, No. 16 AP) are a combined 10-0 and is climbing the charts much like Tulane did last year. Marshall and East Carolina are fueled by their highly productive quarterbacks (Marshall's Chad Pennington, East Carolina's David Garrard). ... Miami's Davis says freshman tailback Jarrett Payton, son of former NFL great Walter, isn't obviously distracted by his father's life-threatening illness. "His father's health is obviously on his mind," says Davis. "But that hasn't hurt his preparation for the football tasks at hand one bit. I've been impressed by Jarrett. He's had a full load to deal with. It's his first year away from home. His father is sick. But he's been able to get home a couple times when we've had bye weeks. And he's handled this difficult situation with a great deal of maturity, which is a credit to his mother and his father." ... In the City of Brotherly Love, football fans are wondering if either of Veterans Stadium's gridiron tenants, Temple (0-5) or the Philadelphia Eagles (0-4), will win a game this year. It probably won't happen this week, as a pair of unbeatens -- Boston College (4-0) and the Dallas Cowboys (3-0) -- come to town. The scary part: A couple weeks ago, a local radio disc jockey got up on a roof of a T.G.I. Friday's restaurant and said he's not coming down until the Eagles win. Better get some blankets, pal.

Bill Doherty, a freelance writer from Bethlehem, Pa., is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.