Though Syracuse head coach Greg Robinson wasn’t around last year to witness Marques Hagans run wild against the Orange, he’s determined not to allow the Virginia quarterback to repeat his performance.

The fleet-footed Hagans, who leads the Virginia offense, will be in the Carrier Dome on Saturday at noon, and Robinson has been studying him closely this week. Tuesday, he spoke at length about the Cavalier offense and the types of challenges his defense will face.

‘If (Hagans) was 6-foot-1, they would be talking about him winning the Heisman,’ Robinson said. ‘It isn’t just escaping. He escapes, but he also throws the ball. I saw him throw a ball 55 yards sliding to his right with his shoulders turned to the sideline, dead on the money.’

In Virginia’s 31-10 win over Syracuse in 2004 at Charlottesville, Va., Hagans led the Cavaliers with 81 yards rushing, including a 59-yard touchdown in the first quarter. In total, Hagans ran for two touchdowns and threw for one on 202 yards passing.

Though the Orange defense has looked strong so far this season causing five West Virginia turnovers and pitching a shutout against Buffalo, Robinson admitted it hadn’t seen anyone like Hagans.

‘There was a play against Georgia Tech where he’s hemmed in on the sideline and you think its all said and done,’ Robinson said. ‘All of the sudden, he pops out and loses about 10 more yards, comes all away around the whole length of the field and completes a ball for about a 25-yard gain. He does things like that all of the time.’

However the Orange defend Virginia, it looks likes it’ll have to be creative.

‘When you play with 13 men on the field and two of them spy,’ Robinson joked, ‘it works normally if you have the right kind of athletes. So, we might go to the 13-player unit and see what we can get done with that.’

Falke’s status unknown

Robinson couldn’t confirm the status of offensive tackle Kurt Falke. The senior injured his left knee in Saturday’s 31-0 defeat of Buffalo on a screen pass gone awry.

‘I don’t want to say for sure,’ Robinson said. ‘He’s sore. I would say he is definitely doubtful.’

Falke caught a pass that was intended for running back Damien Rhodes for an 8-yard loss, but needed to be helped off the field. In his place was redshirt freshman Ryan Ehrie.

Robinson did say Virginia’s unique 3-4 defense would be a challenge this weekend for the hampered line.

‘The other day, I think Buffalo exposed themselves and our offensive line took advantage of that,’ Robinson said. ‘This is a tougher challenge. They are a very good three-man line, their linebacking corps is outstanding and their secondary can cover. They’ll give us a real challenge.’

A biscuit away

Syracuse may miss out on Virginia linebacker Ahmad Brooks, a junior All-America candidate.

The 249-pound Brooks missed Virginia’s season opener against Western Michigan and was not listed on the Cavaliers depth chart for this week. He is still recovering from offseason surgery to help regenerate bone growth in his right knee.

On Sunday, Robinson referred to Brooks as being ‘a biscuit away from putting his hand down (becoming a defensive lineman).’

‘He is a moving defensive lineman at times,’ Robinson said. ‘That’s the beauty of having a player like that. He reminds me a little bit of Levon Kirkland when he was at Pittsburgh. That type of a guy can create havoc because of his explosiveness and his massiveness.’

Published on September 13, 2005 at 12:00 pm