Damien Rhodes remembers sitting home late last October, watching his Orange teammates get thrashed by Pittsburgh. The Syracuse native watched the game alone, wishing he could help his teammates.

It was the first road game he’d missed in his career. It hurt knowing he couldn’t be there with his team – so much so that he cried.

His roommate, Perry Patterson, was on the road, as were his other teammates, in Pittsburgh.

Perhaps Saturday, Rhodes made amends for missing much of last season with a pair of ankle injuries. The junior tailback had 192 all-purpose yards to go along with a 68-yard touchdown catch as SU defeated Cincinnati, 19-7, in front of 32,893 fans at the Carrier Dome.

‘It was tough,’ Rhodes said of last season. ‘Being out there and watching the team win, knowing you couldn’t do anything to help them win. I watched them lose, knowing I couldn’t do anything to help them win. It was a tough spot to be in.’

But Rhodes did plenty against the Bearcats. He rushed for 82 yards, as part of a re-energized Syracuse running attack that victimized Cincinnati for 192 rushing yards.

Rhodes added energy to an otherwise lifeless offensive attack with a 52-yard first-quarter run. From SU’s own 5-yard line, Rhodes sprinted through the right side of SU’s offensive line before outrunning a slew of Bearcats defenders. Although a Patterson interception ended the drive, Rhodes’ big run clearly got SU’s ground game started.

Then, in the fourth quarter, the Bearcats closed to within 10-7, as a pair of fourth-down conversions led to a 2-yard touchdown pass from Gino Guidugli to Brent Celek. But just two plays later, Patterson found his wide-open roommate for a 68-yard touchdown strike.

Rhodes got free when the play matched him against a slower Cincinnati linebacker, whom Rhodes easily beat downfield.

‘I wouldn’t want one of our linebackers to have to run 100 yards with Damien either,’ SU head coach Paul Pasqualoni said.

Though Rhodes’ heroics sealed the win, he was only one half of SU’s running back combination. Former Hesiman candidate Walter Reyes, who rushed for a combined 92 yards in Syracuse’s first two games, finally broke out with a 117-yard effort.

His second-quarter, 6-yard touchdown run gave SU a 7-0 lead. It also completed the Orange’s first-sustained scoring drive of the season. The drive began at SU’s own 41-yard line, and Syracuse went 59 yards in seven plays.

Rhodes’ and Reyes’ big days can largely be contributed to improved blocking. The offensive line put much of the blame on itself for Reyes’ slow start. But as Pasqualoni pointed out leading up to the game, much of the blocking responsibility falls on receivers and tight ends as well.

On Saturday, apparently all the blocking came together, as both Rhodes and Reyes ran off long runs.

‘As a whole, everyone did their job,’ Rhodes said. ‘I think the line itself did a great job blocking and the receivers and fullbacks did a great job on the perimeter.’

For Rhodes, who says his role is to come in and provide ‘a spark,’ this marked his second straight strong performance. He led SU with 85 rushing yards last week against Buffalo. With Reyes apparently emerging from his slump against the Bearcats, the duo showed a glimpse of the problems it could cause opponents.

‘It helps our team and hurts the defense,’ Rhodes said. ‘(The defense) got tired. ‘I think we’re the best tailback combo in the country.’

Published on September 17, 2004 at 12:00 pm