All Time Classic - Rout in the Big House

[CIL]

McNabb was truly incredible and opposing teams couldn't game plan against him. We also had elite speed -- we were just missing some elite talents on both fronts. That's what kept us from being great.

 

[Eric15]

That team should have won a national title. ugh.

We lost four games. And Florida just absolutely dominated us in the Orange Bowl. How do you figure we should have won a national title?

 

[SWC75]

We lost four games. And Florida just absolutely dominated us in the Orange Bowl. How do you figure we should have won a national title?

If we consistently played the way we did in the stretch of almost beating Tennessee, blowing Michigan out and putting 7 dimes on Rutgers, it was possible. But we were not able to maintain that level of play and that's what it takes.

 

[Scooch]

FWIW, I thought '97 was the year we could have made a national title run. The '98 D wasn't good enough IMHO.

 

[Eric15]

FWIW, I thought '97 was the year we could have made a national title run. The '98 D wasn't good enough IMHO.

1997 NC State is still the most devastated I've ever been after an SU football loss.

 

[Scooch]

1997 NC State is still the most devastated I've ever been after an SU football loss.

Amen, brother, that makes two of us. After the way we annihilated Wisconsin the week before, I was utterly crushed after NC State.

 

[RF2044]

Amen, brother, that makes two of us. After the way we annihilated Wisconsin the week before, I was utterly crushed after NC State.

That NC State loss in the Dome [with 10 defenders on the field for two consecutive plays when they scored the go-ahead TD] is one of the most depressing losses I can remember as an SU fan.

 

[Eric15]

That NC State loss in the Dome [with 10 defenders on the field for two consecutive plays when they scored the go-ahead TD] is one of the most depressing losses I can remember as an SU fan.

We got out to a 14-0 point lead in the blink of an eye and I thought to myself "OK, this will be a relaxing game." But then they just hung around and hung around and you just felt an increasing sense of impending doom.

 

[RF2044]

We got out to a 14-0 point lead in the blink of an eye and I thought to myself "OK, this will be a relaxing game." But then they just hung around and hung around and you just felt an increasing sense of impending doom.

Their QB [Jamie Barnett? I've actively repressed the memory] was another in a long line of athletic QBs that just killed us. We let him run around all day and couldn't put a finger on him. Of course, it didn't hurt that they had Torrey Holt that he could just wing the ball out to.

 

[lincolncuse]

Their QB [Jamie Barnett? I've actively repressed the memory] was another in a long line of athletic QBs that just killed us. We let him run around all day and couldn't put a finger on him. Of course, it didn't hurt that they had Torrey Holt that he could just wing the ball out to.

We just couldn't get off the field on 3rd down. Every time one of those two would make a play.

 

[lincolncuse]

We got out to a 14-0 point lead in the blink of an eye and I thought to myself "OK, this will be a relaxing game." But then they just hung around and hung around and you just felt an increasing sense of impending doom.

North Carolina State Shocks No. 13 Syracuse

 

[Scooch]

And yet given all that... hand off to Dee Brown.

:bat:

 

[GoSU96]

And yet given all that... hand off to Dee Brown.

:bat:

Didn't help that McNabb was out all night and had gotten in a fight with Konrad, who tweaked his knee.

By the time they got to VT Dee Brown was the starting FB and McNabb had two slight shoulder dislocations. He was wrapped up like a mummy all week.

That team was WAY over scheduled early. Wisconsin, NCST, at OU, at VT to start the year. That's nuts any season with any team.

 

[GoSU96]

FWIW, I thought '97 was the year we could have made a national title run. The '98 D wasn't good enough IMHO.

The secondary that was replacing Darius and Jones was a revolving door. Allen, Nash, Byrd, McIntosh, all missed games and were limited in others.

 

[cuse309]

I'm still looking for footage of the 92 Miami @ Cuse game. Although we lost, it was one of the most insane games I've ever attended. I was just 14 at the time, but it's what galvanized me as a die-hard Cuse Fan. Can't find footage ANYWHERE!

 

[Eric15]

Wisconsin, NCST, at OU, at VT to start the year. That's nuts any season with any team.

I'm not sure when those NC State and Oklahoma games were scheduled, but they both went 3-8 the year before in 1996. Both teams stunk in the mid 90s.

And do we control when the Big East schedules our game against Va Tech?

 

[SWC75]

1997 NC State is still the most devastated I've ever been after an SU football loss.

I once got a laugh when I said that it was a little-known historical fact that Di and Dodi crashed because they were listening to the SU-NC State game. OK, so it was dark humor but I was in a dark mood.


My low point was the next year's NC State game when I thought we had a chance at the national title and Heisman, had an opening drive just like the one at Michigan, got then on 3rd and 29 and nobody bothered to cover Torrey Holt. We seemed to be playing in a fog the rest of the game and got outscored 10-38 after the 7-0 start. McNabb was shrugging his shoulders at his teammates as they made one mistake after another. That was supposed to be our revenge game!

I was so down the next day I remember repairing to a stairwell at work for a few moments while I gathered myself so I could concentrate on my job and do it with some patience and poise. I had to put other people first and that's hard to do when you are angry and depressed. I wondered to myself if it was worth it to be an SU fan if it was going to cause such angst.

Luckily I stuck with it and have never regretted doing so.

 

[Scooch]

Didn't help that McNabb was out all night and had gotten in a fight with Konrad, who tweaked his knee. By the time they got to VT Dee Brown was the starting FB and McNabb had two slight shoulder dislocations. He was wrapped up like a mummy all week. That team was WAY over scheduled early. Wisconsin, NCST, at OU, at VT to start the year. That's nuts any season with any team.

I thought the McNabb stuff was '98? No?

Injuries definitely crippled that year, for sure.

The schedule was crazy in theory. But NC State and Oklahoma were not good in reality. Even VT was a middling team that year. Granted if you stack up enough middling teams one might sneak up on you. But we lost to teams worse than us, IMHO.

 

[Briancuse]

North Carolina State Shocks No. 13 Syracuse

That game was a nightmare.

 

[FrancoPizza]

I'm still looking for footage of the 92 Miami @ Cuse game. Although we lost, it was one of the most insane games I've ever attended. I was just 14 at the time, but it's what galvanized me as a die-hard Cuse Fan. Can't find footage ANYWHERE!

Some probably still have their VHS tape - the rest probably burned 'em. I remember the abc broadcast intro to the game was cut short because the Michigan-OSU game that resulted in a tie was quite delayed... then they cut to a thanksgiving ad from P&C "the price champions" and Carrie Lazarus had to remind us of her upcoming story on "Mothering Moms". Yes those of us who couldn't be at the game had to endure some agony wondering if we were missing the opening kickoff. :bang:

But on a different note, I truly miss when SU football was a story on the national level at thanksgiving. It has been so long.

 

[SU2NASA]

The '92 Miami game is what solidified my SU fandom. I was 12 years old and my mother was a Design Director for the local Fox affiliate. They dialed in one of their giant news satellite dishes (the only way to get the game in Michigan) and I watched it at her office. Gedney getting tackled at the 3 was heartbreak, I'll never forget it.

 

[cuse309]

The '92 Miami game is what solidified my SU fandom. I was 12 years old and my mother was a Design Director for the local Fox affiliate. They dialed in one of their giant news satellite dishes (the only way to get the game in Michigan) and I watched it at her office. Gedney getting tackled at the 3 was heartbreak, I'll never forget it.

I remember from that point on, realizing that although we lost, SU football is kind of a big deal. The McNabb years that followed, though in my opinion, they underachieved given the talent, solidified that thought. I just thought it would always be this way. 8-10 wins a year, with good bowl games. Competitive with all the big boys, nearly sold out dome on Saturdays, a buzz on campus during football season. If you could go back in time, and tell the 14 year old me at that game, that SU would turn into one of the worst P5 teams in the country following 2001, I would have told you you were nuts.

 

[kirbivore]

The '92 Miami game is what solidified my SU fandom. I was 12 years old and my mother was a Design Director for the local Fox affiliate. They dialed in one of their giant news satellite dishes (the only way to get the game in Michigan) and I watched it at her office. Gedney getting tackled at the 3 was heartbreak, I'll never forget it.

The first of many examples of P's horrible clock management.

 

[FrancoPizza]

The first of many examples of P's horrible clock management.

295 yards of offense in the 2nd half and only came away with 10 points.

 

[SWC75]

295 yards of offense in the 2nd half and only came away with 10 points.

We spent the first half running the near-side option. the second half we we blocked them and got the ball downfield.