Orange, UW seek old spark

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Syracuse is set to begin its third season under Greg Robinson, and he couldn’t ask for a better setting to start on a positive note – the first Friday night game in Carrier Dome history and a large crowd to root for the Orange.

“You can feel festivity in the air about the season,” Robinson said in preparation for Washington. “I look forward to the day when that dome is rockin’.”

On the other sideline will be Tyrone Willingham, who begins his third year at Washington with the same charge as Robinson – resurrect a program with a winning tradition that has fallen on hard times. Robinson is 5-18 at Syracuse and Willingham is 7-16 at Washington, the same record Keith Gilbertson had in his two years before resigning.

Willingham’s last visit to the Carrier Dome was in December 2003, and it was forgettable. His Notre Dame team was thoroughly beaten 38-12 by a mediocre Syracuse squad that finished 6-6 under former coach Paul Pasqualoni.

“I’ve employed that much-needed skill – I have short-term memory,” Willingham said. “I have trouble looking back.”

Looking forward isn’t so great, either. Despite an improvement in all-around talent from a team that finished 5-7 in 2006, the Huskies have what many consider the toughest schedule in the country. After opening at Syracuse, the Huskies will play six teams ranked in the preseason AP Top 25, including top-ranked Southern California, so Willingham could become the first coach in school history to have three straight losing seasons.

UW will start redshirt freshman quarterback Jake Locker at quarterback. The gem of Willingham’s second recruiting class, Locker led Ferndale (Wash.) to a 14-0 record and the 2005 State 3A title, passing for 1,603 yards and 27 touchdowns with just three interceptions as a senior and also rushing for 1,338 yards and 24 TDs.