The 2-yard line-Syracuse’s nemesis.

Seven times the Orange tried to run from inside the Iowa 2 several weeks ago and failed.

The situation reappeared on SU’s first possession in Saturday’s 34-14 win over Miami. Only this time, Syracuse didn’t ask Tony Fiammetta, Paul Chiara or Perry Patterson to run the ball. Greg Robinson called on Curtis Brinkley instead.

No. 22 leapt-seemingly propelled by a secret tiny trampoline on a hashmark-over the Redhawks’ defensive line and into the endzone, just like that.

Touchdown Syracuse on first-and-goal.

‘That’s what I do,’ Brinkley said of giving the Orange a 7-0 lead. ‘I just jumped. I’ve got faith in my jumping skills. I told (the offensive line) that before I even got up there. I told them, ‘Hey, I’m going up over the top. That’s the bottom line.”

Brinkley’s score gave the Orange its first rushing touchdown of the season and wound up signifying SU’s most successful game rushing to date this season-152 yards on 34 carries. While Syracuse ran for 202 on 44 carries against Illinois, 48 yards came on a fumble recovery for a touchdown by Taj Smith.

Brinkley recorded Syracuse’s first 100-yard game of the season with 102 yards on 15 carries. The last Syracuse running back to tally more than 100 yards was Damien Rhodes with 112 in a loss to Notre Dame on Nov. 19, 2005.

Delone Carter followed up his breakout game against Illinois last week with a new career-high-71 yards on 11 carries.

Plus, after going two games without a 20-yard run by a running back, Syracuse broke three on Saturday.

Brinkley scampered 23 yards before his leap on first-and-goal and then flashed for a 26-yard gain in the second half. Carter recorded the Orange’s longest run of the season with a 35-yarder down the right sideline late in the game.

Currently, Brinkley’s 5.2 yards per carry is more than a yard greater than Rhodes’ 4.1 in 2005.

‘We were ready for their blitzes,’ center Justin Outten said of the longer runs. ‘We prepared all week long. We knew they were coming. We made our calls. It was the running back’s job to find the holes. There were a lot of holes. They just picked the right ones. It turned out to be a good day for both running backs.’

Paul Chiara again only carried once-a 15-yarder in the final minute.

For the second straight week, Brinkley played most of the first and third quarters while Carter handled duties in the second and fourth quarters.

‘It is so important to be able to have a running game,’ Robinson said. ‘I don’t think that we are seeing the finished product. I think that we have two young backs.

‘We have a young offensive line. Corey (Chavers) got banged up a little bit. He went out and Mike Sklarosky came in and Carroll (Madison) moved over. We had to make some adjustments there but I thought that we did a good job.’

Now with the threat of a passing game (Patterson went 14-of-20 for 163 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions on Saturday), opponents can’t stack the box with eight or nine men like last season.

Then again, eight or nine men didn’t work at the goal line on Syracuse’s first possession when Brinkley catapulted into the endzone.

‘That was a relief,’ Outten said of the Orange’s first rushing touchdown of the season. ‘I saw the flip, too, that was real nice. He wanted it so bad and as much as we did. It was a great feeling.’

Published on September 23, 2006 at 12:00 pm