Jose Cruz called his mother before Syracuse’s game against Maine on Saturday. Without a touchdown all season, Cruz told her his first touchdown would be dedicated to an injured teammate. And he wanted that touchdown to come on Saturday.

‘I told my mom that I was going to dedicate my first touchdown to Aaron Weaver,’ Cruz said. ‘We’ve gone through a lot, transferring together, and we’re both seniors. Transferring is really tough. It’s been hard for me, watching him go down. I did do that for him.’

Cruz caught a momentous touchdown pass from Ryan Nassib to give Syracuse the lead heading into the locker room at halftime on Saturday. Cruz provided the momentum, and other receivers subsequently provided the flash as SU piled on and cruised to a 38-14 victory.

With the play of Van Chew, Alec Lemon, Nick Provo and Cruz, the receiving corps alleviated, at least for one game, the loss of Aaron Weaver, who suffered a torn ACL earlier this week during practice and will be out for the season.

Provo, a receiving threat at tight end, gave signs that he could step in and be the Orange’s No. 3 receiver out of the slot and replace Weaver. He had five catches for 85 yards, the highlight of which was a 20-yard touchdown pass from Nassib late in the third quarter.

‘That’s his game,’ Cruz said. ‘That’s what he does. I’m more of a blocker who catches the tiny passes. Tonight, that’s what we did, and we came out and played a great game.’

Moving past two drops early in the game, Lemon busted out with touchdown catches in the second and third quarters, the latter of which gave SU a comfortable 24-14 lead and spurred the onslaught.

And for the third consecutive game, the much improved Chew looked like the big-play, go-to downfield threat, finishing the day with seven catches for 113 yards and a touchdown.

It was a cohesive performance from the unit that had Lemon confident in the receiving corps moving forward, even without Weaver.

‘Tonight showed that we have a lot of options,’ Lemon said. ‘We’re not relying on just one receiver. We can spread the ball around and make the defense look at all the players. Not just one option.’

Holmes sparks comeback

Every time the other team punts the ball his way and gives him a chance to run, Mike Holmes takes it as a sign of disrespect.

‘Any time I catch a punt, it’s an opportunity to score a touchdown,’ Holmes said. ‘It’s disrespectful any time they kick it to you.’

No touchdown this time. But what resulted from that second-quarter punt to Holmes was a shot of life into the Orange, which had so far looked punchless in falling seven points behind at that point.

Holmes caught Jordan Waxman’s punt at SU’s 11-yard line, a spot at which he later admitted he probably should have let it bounce behind him. He ran back and right, appearing to have nowhere to go. So he went even farther back to the left, picking up blocking and steam along the way and scampering to an eventual 62-yard return that put Syracuse on Maine’s 27-yard line.

Three plays later, Nassib found Alec Lemon for a three-yard touchdown connection, and the Orange had some life.

‘I don’t think I was supposed to catch it that deep,’ Holmes said. ‘So I knew I had to make a play or I would get yelled at on the sideline. I went to one side of the field and then reversed, and I saw a wall of blockers so I went from there.’

Added Holmes: ‘I was a little winded after that one.’

This and that

Nassib recorded personal bests on the day for completions (19), yards (260) and touchdowns (five), setting the program touchdown record in the process. ‘I love this quarterback,’ Marrone said. ‘I think he is someone special.’ … With the victory over Maine, Syracuse improved to 7-0 against current members of the FCS at the Carrier Dome. … This is the first time since 2004 the Orange has been 2-1. … SU’s 38 points were, coincidentally, the most it has had in a game since last season’s 41-point showing against the Black Bears. … At halftime, SU honored legendary running back Floyd Little, who was recently enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

bplogiur@syr.edu

Published on September 19, 2010 at 12:00 pm