Arthur Jones News

Defensive lineman Arthur Jones leads a Syracuse defense which has limited opponents to an average of 88.9 rushing yards per game this season.

In the aftermath of the greatest crisis to strike the young Doug Marrone era at Syracuse University, the players did something essential, if not tried and true, in dealing with the stress.

Frank Ordonez / The Post-Standard. It was another long day for Syracuse head coach Doug Marrone and the Orange as they lost 28-7 to Cincinnati on Saturday at the Carrier Dome.

So, they were playing one of the top teams in the nation. How obvious can you get? It would take nearly mistake-free football for the Syracuse University football team to have a chance against unbeaten Cincinnati.

Sports talk radio and Internet postings in central New York this week have been full of chatter about the need for the Syracuse football team to avenge an upset loss to the University of Akron last season.

Akron's Miguel Graham defends Kent State receiver Alex Vanderink on a pass in the end zone at Dix Stadium on Oct.

The Blue and Orange Report There is a lot to be optimistic about in Denver right now.

It's not often hype heading into a game manages to involve the matchup of interior defensive linemen.

Jarrett Brown took another step forward. Greg Paulus only wished he had. Brown played a near-flawless first half, going 14-for-18 for 179 yards in leading West Virginia to a 27-point lead, and the Mountaineers easily beat mistake-prone Syracuse 34-13 on Saturday.

It may seem rather simplistic to reduce it to one of the sport's most basic concepts, but when West Virginia plays Syracuse this afternoon at the Carrier Dome the outcome is likely to come down to this: Which team's playmakers will make more plays? Granted, that's no grand revelation.

Rookie Syracuse head coach Doug Marrone was in a foul mood early in the week, either because he was still trying to forget the Orange's seven-turnover loss to South Florida or he suddenly realized that West Virginia has held the Ben Schwartzwalder Trophy for the past seven years.

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett Doug Marrone has repeated one message every day at practice this week: Bring the trophy back.

USF didn't necessarily need any extra motivation going into Saturday's Big East opener at Syracuse, but apparently the Bulls -- and especially running back Mike Ford -- got an extra spark in the 34-20 win from comments made by an Orange player last week.

Syracuse head coach Doug Marrone talks to his offensive linemen during the third quarter against South Florida Saturday.

Give it away, give it away, give it away, now. Give it away, give it away, give it away, now.

B.J. Daniels hit Carlton Mitchell on scoring passes of 33 and 85 yards, Jason Pierre-Paul returned an interception 18 yards for another score, and South Florida remained unbeaten, 34-20 over mistake-prone Syracuse.

Wide receiver Adrian Flemming of Broad Run High School in Ashburn, Va., said he made his commitment official by telling Syracuse head coach Doug Marrone Wednesday night that he will sign to play for the Orange in February of 2010.

If there was a name during preseason camp Doug Marrone couldn't stop saying, it was true freshman wide receiver Alec Lemon.

Syracuse University's All-Big East Conference defensive tackle Arthur Jones said Wednesday he's good to go when the Orange hosts South Florida on Saturday at the Carrier Dome.

As a fan, I want USF to know as little as possible about injury status, personnel, gameplan, etc.