Greg Paulus or Ryan Nassib: Quarterback Controversy at Syracuse's Carrier Dome

Syracuse's first drive against the West Virginia Mountaineer defense on Saturday opened with promise. Running backs Antwon Bailey, Delone Carter and Averin Collier had moved the ball 26 yards down the field on the ground and quarterback Greg Paulus completed his first pass attempt to tight end Mike Owen for a solid eight-yard pick-up.

The Orange were moving the ball.

However, on the seventh play, the drive was derailed in a tragically familiar fashion for the Orange as Paulus threw a terrible interception.

The play aroused bad memories of an overtime interception that sealed Syracuse's fate against Minnesota in the season opener as well as the five that plagued the former Duke point guard against South Florida last week.

The West Virginia defense erupted in celebration as they jogged off the field, giving the ball to Jarrett Brown, Noel Divine and the WVU offense with great field position.

Eight seconds and one 11-yard pass from Brown to Divine later, WVU had a 7-0 lead.

Paulus finished the half with an unimpressive stat line: 5-of-9 for 30 yards and an interception.

With a 27-0 deficit at the start of the second half, it was not No. 2, but No. 12, redshirt freshman Ryan Nassib, who took the reins of the Syracuse offense. Nassib performed decently, completing 7-of-16 passes (with at least four drops by Orange receivers) for 120 yards and two touchdowns.

Included was a 50-yard completion to star receiver Mike Williams on a beautiful double play-action fake, the same play that resulted in Paulus-to-Williams touchdowns of similar length against Northwestern, Maine and USF.

Nassib's performance was far from perfect. Many of his incompletions came on throws behind his receivers or over their heads. And his touch left something to be desired.

However, the undeniable zip on his passes wowed the announced crowd of 40,144 at the Carrier Dome, leading many to call for his insertion into the starting lineup.

After the game, Doug Marrone quickly ended that speculation, stating that Paulus was his quarterback and would start in Syracuse's next game against Akron on Oct. 24.

Marrone's announcement has done little to temper the Paulus-Nassib debate amongst Syracuse fans.

Paulus supporters cite the senior's successes against Northwestern and Maine. The Nassib camp looks towards the future of the program, saying that Marrone should get Nassib valuable game experience since he is the heir-apparent for the position anyway.

Marrone needs to start whoever gives the team the best chance to win this season.

Syracuse football is at a crossroads.

Doug Marrone is in his first season and has said and done all of the right things off the field. In addition, the on-field performance has been much better than it was under former head coach Greg Robinson.

However, the only thing that is going to rejuvenate this proud program is pretty obvious.

In the words of Syracuse alumnus Al Davis, "Just win baby."

Attendance in the Dome (especially among students) is absolutely stagnant. If Syracuse is going to contend in the games it faces a talent gap, it needs a full "Loud House."

If they are going to recruit well, which Marrone has been doing thus far, a full stadium is instrumental. Promise and hope brought people out for Minnesota and Northwestern, but the numbers have been slipping steadily since.

Going to a bowl is the easiest way to propel the program back into the national scene, and it is still achievable for the Orange this season. They have won two games after two very strong performances by Paulus.

Entering the game against West Virginia, Paulus was on pace to break multiple single-season records for Syracuse passers, eclipsing greats like Donovan McNabb, Don McPherson and Marvin Graves.

Call Paulus an "experiment" if you must, but the results are undeniable. He can win football games.

If Paulus continues to struggle when Akron comes to the Dome on Oct. 24, then Nassib should probably be given the job. However, coming off a bye week, Paulus' tired arm should be re-energized and the Orange should be primed to win their third game and keep the hopes for a bowl berth alive.

Give Paulus a chance to be successful. If he returns to the form we saw against Northwestern, Syracuse can win four more games and make the improbable run to .500 in Marrone's first season.

Immediate success will do eons more for this program than a few snaps for a quarterback who may or may not be the future of the team. There is no guarantee that Nassib will be the answer next season.

True freshman Charley Loeb will have had the same amount of time in Marrone's and offensive coordinator Rob Spence's system. Two promising recruits, Jonny Miller (Mullen HS, Denver, CO) and John Kinder (Lawrence SHS, Cedarhurst, NY), are also coming in at the position.

Orange fans need to back Marrone's decision, cheer on Paulus, and give him the chance to succeed.

He has exceeded almost everyone's expectations thus far, and can continue to do so. If he does, Syracuse will be on the track to reemerge as an Eastern football power much sooner then we could have hoped for.

Syracuse Orange Avoids Falling into Bear Trap

After three hard fought games to open the first season of the Doug Marrone era, Syracuse fans looked forward to a nice, easy game with the FCS University of Maine.

Unfortunately, nothing comes easy for the Orange.

The game's scoring opened with a short touchdown throw from quarterback Greg Paulus to Halfback Delone Carter, giving Syracuse a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter. However, Maine would not back down, and the first Black Bear drive showed a much different team then was expected.

Maine is generally classified as a ground-oriented team, who on the back of Sophomore rusher Derek Session, controlled the clock and a game's momentum. This would seemingly play right into Syracuse's defensive strength, which is in the run game. Syracuse has had great success against the rush, allowing only 83 yards per game, good for 13th best in the nation.

However, when Maine Quarterback Warren Smith took the ball after Syracuse's scoring drive, the offense looked much, much different.

Much like Northwestern did to great success the week before in the Carrier Dome, Smith picked apart the Orange secondary on short, quick passes- going 24-35 for 305 yards, and 3 TDs on the day. The Bears offense would respond to Carter's touchdown with a field goal, and then after a surprising onside kick recovery, Smith hit wide receiver Landis Williams for a 56-yard touchdown to give Maine a 10-7 lead.

Syracuse was able to tie the game at 10 with a field goal by freshman Ryan Lichtenstein, but after stopping the Orange following an interception by cornerback Kevyn Scott, Smith drove down the field against the Syracuse defense to find Williams again for a 14-yard score.

Syracuse was able to manage another Lichtenstein field goal to cut the Maine lead to 17-13 at the half, but all 35,000 fans in the Dome were shocked. This was not the team they had grown to love over the last few weeks, this looked shockingly like the Syracuse team that was used to losing over the last four years.

The second half was much kinder to the Orange, who made the necessary adjustments to stop Maine's sharp offense, while continuing to find success with the ball.

With their first possession of the half, Syracuse was able to drive the ball 86 yards down the field, capped off by a nine yard touchdown run for Carter, who finished with 95 total yards (72 rushing, 23 receiving) and four total touchdowns. Syracuse was back on top, 20-17.

On their next drive, the Orange worked with a shorter field, and Greg Paulus connected with Sophomore Marcus Sales in the corner of the endzone for 17 yards and a score, extending the Orange lead to 10. Paulus finished the game with another impressive stat line, completing 21 of 28 passes, for 270 yards and 2 touchdowns.

The defense helped keep the ball rolling as well. After dropping a near-interception earlier in the game, junior linebacker Doug Hogue picked off an errant Smith pass and returned it 30 yards to the Maine 10-yard line, allowing Carter to barrel into the endzone from five yards out for another score.

The scoring pace slowed during the fourth quarter, with Syracuse and Maine trading touchdowns late in the game, securing a 41-24 Syracuse win.

The Orange have a very tough obstacle ahead of them, with the USF Bulls coming to the Dome off of a big upset of Florida State over the weekend.