In his 12th career start, Syracuse quarterback Perry Patterson looked as sharp as he’s been in the second half of Saturday’s 27-24 loss to Virginia.

Head coach Greg Robinson praised the way his junior signal caller bounced back from a shaky start. In the first half, Patterson was 6-for-12 for 35 yards.

‘From spring ball to now I think (Patterson’s accuracy) has definitely improved,’ Robinson said Sunday. ‘He is becoming more pin-point. That’s not to say he is perfect. I see that he’s focusing on his footwork and his mechanics are improving.’

Patterson finished the game 17-for-26 for 172 yards and one touchdown. He also rushed for two scores. This season, Patterson’s thrown only two interceptions, both in the opener against West Virginia.

Combined with the Orange defense’s 10 interceptions in three games (fifth nationally) this season, SU’s turnover margin of +2.67 is second nationally.

‘Quarterbacking is a lot like golfing,’ Robinson said. ‘You really have to get grooved. Timing is so important. He zipped some balls in there really well. His touch on some balls was very, very good.’

New face

With senior offensive tackle Kurt Falke’s knee injury, sophomore Carroll Madison took his place on the line in Saturday’s loss.

Madison appeared in four games at guard in 2004 before moving to center in spring practice. On Saturday, he made his first career start at tackle.

‘We really all along felt like Carroll was the sixth best offensive lineman we had,’ Robinson said.

Madison, a Houston native, played at Westfield High School with former Syracuse quarterback and basketball walk-on Xzavier Gaines.

‘Each day (in practice last week) he got better and better,’ Robinson said. ‘In the game he did a number of things very well. I wish I could tell you he did extremely well, but he did a number of things where you felt like, ‘Hey that was promising.”

Room for improvement

Though Syracuse’s defense has been impressive this season, leading the Big East with 10 turnovers caused, Robinson said it can still improve.

‘We are developing as a defense and I think we have a chance to be a very good defense,’ Robinson said. ‘We’re tough up front and we have a good linebacker corps.’

In particular, Robinson wasn’t pleased with the run defense against Virginia. Cavs quarterback Marques Hagans broke loose for gains of 38 and 26 yards on the ground, the latter coming on a crucial third-and-6 on the Cavaliers’ final scoring drive in the fourth quarter.

Back-up running back Michael Johnson, UVa’s fastest player, also broke a career-long 70-yard dash in the third quarter for a touchdown.

‘There were 44 rushes and three of those rushes were for half the yardage,’ Robinson said. ‘You have to eliminate those plays. The rest of the running game was another 41 carries for 135 yards – that you can live with. You can’t allow the big play no matter who it is. I wish we could’ve have a few plays back.’

This and that …

Syracuse’s game against Florida State will be televised nationally on ABC on Oct. 1 at 3:30 p.m. … Syracuse’s only win against FSU came in a 1966, 37-21, defeat of the Seminoles. … The Orange was penalized only once for a total of 15 yards against Virginia. The last time SU played an entire game without being called for a penalty was at West Virginia on Nov. 23, 1957.

Published on September 18, 2005 at 12:00 pm