Dyshawn Davis’ first plane ride was enjoyable. After the SU freshman linebacker got over some nerves about taking the cross country flight to Southern California last weekend, he relaxed while sitting on the plane.

‘It went pretty good,’ Davis said. ‘I had a window seat, too, so it was — I thought I would be scared, but I actually liked it. Ears hurt a little bit after a while, but I liked it a lot.’

Unfortunately for Davis, he didn’t get a chance to show a lot in his first collegiate road game against the Trojans. He recorded one tackle but said on Wednesday he was a little banged up during the game. He also said he was thinking a little too much about his assignments throughout the game. But in talking to coaches this week, he feels ready to play faster as Syracuse hosts Toledo on Saturday at noon in the Carrier Dome.

Even though the results on the field weren’t enviable both individually and for his team, Davis said the trip was fun.

‘Being on the West Coast and the weather, I never played in such perfect football weather,’ Davis said. ‘It wasn’t too cold, it wasn’t too hot, it wasn’t a breeze. It was just perfect.

‘I just loved the atmosphere, and I just loved competing against the best of the best. We didn’t get the win, but it was a good experience, and we’re moving on from there.’

The Daily Orange spoke to Davis on Wednesday about SU’s upcoming opponent, Toledo. The Rockets are just 1-2 this season, but the two losses have come to ranked opponents then-No. 15 Ohio State (27-22) and No. 4 Boise State (40-15).

The Daily Orange: What do you expect from the Toledo team you’ll be lining up against on Saturday?

Davis: I know they’re going to come in here balls out ready to play. They play three (Bowl Championship Series) teams a year, and they lost their first two games to a BCS team and we’re that last. We talked about how Toledo beats at least one BCS team a year in their schedule and this year, after coming back after that loss, we’re not trying to let that happen.

How important is it to bounce back from that loss by beating a solid Toledo team?

It’s very important. We started off the season 2-0, we went into Southern Cal, we wanted to win, we didn’t get the win, and right now, this week, this is where we see ourselves as a team. Where do we stand, how hard do we work, how hard do we want it, how bad do the seniors want it?

And we know Toledo’s coming in here, they’re a pretty good team, they played two top teams. They played Boise State and Ohio State, and they’re some good competitors. They competed, they stayed in the game and we know this win is not going to be easy.

Toledo plays two quarterbacks, and they both get nearly the same amount of playing time. How do you prepare for that?

Both quarterbacks are pretty equal, so there’s not much adjusting to what quarterback is in the game, what quarterback is out of the game. As a defense we’re just going in there, playing our game, execute our game plan, going to run the plays, whatever’s called. Like I said before, play 110 percent every play, play fast.

Rockets wide receiver Eric Page is a dynamic playmaker. What do you have to do to contain him?

Play our game. Like I said, play fast and play a little bit better than we played in Southern Cal. I feel like if everybody out there on defense did their job, everything will fall in place from there.

What was the biggest thing the SU defense learned against USC that it can improve in this game?

I feel like as a defense we need to mature more. Toughen up a little bit. Such as myself, getting hurt, limping off, little cuts and bruises. We’ve got to learn that’s all part of the game. Don’t limp, you have to be tough, suck it up, go in there, put your head down, buckle your chin strap up and keep playing. So as a defense I feel like this week we’re getting there. We’re a young defense and we are all learning, and everything is coming along pretty good.

mcooperj@syr.edu

Published on September 22, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Mark: mcooperj@syr.edu | @mark_cooperjr