Syracuse Minnesota from 1996

[Eric15]

I booked my flight and hotel yesterday for Cuse/Gophers on 9/22, and it got me thinking about our last game in Minnesota in 1996, which my Dad and I attended. I dug up the box score online, and was taking a look at it. For all intents and purposes, this is one of the most bizarre games in SU history.

-We rushed for 301 yards and lost. That is simply unheard of for an SU football team.
-Minnesota had two fumble returns for touchdowns by the same player in less than ONE MINUTE.

http://ericthrall.com/gophers/football/1996/syracuse.html

 

[SUFan44]

Metrodome was a tough place to play football, but that game was inexcuseable. A 4-7 Minnesota team (which is what they ended up being) drove down and kicked two field goals to beat us in the final 6 minutes. With an offense that racked up 300 rushing yards... can't say that wasn't a VERY winnable game.

The kid Carter who returned the two fumbles for TDs was an All-American and 4th round draft pick in the NFL, but outside of him that Golden Gopher team was very mediocre.

 

[TexanMark]

BTW for those going to the game from Syracuse...Delta is starting a daily nonstop to MSP Int'l from the Syracuse Airport in the next month or so. Only one flight a day so book early. I know RF2044's Dad will be on there.

We were so good back then but flawed and had yearly What games with PP calling the games.

 

[OrangePA]

BTW for those going to the game from Syracuse...Delta is starting a daily nonstop to MSP Int'l from the Syracuse Airport in the next month or so. Only one flight a day so book early. I know RF2044's Dad will be on there.

We were so good back then but flawed and had yearly What games with PP calling the games.

Yeah it was P's fault that Minnesota returned to fumbles for TDs.

 

[OttoMets]

Yeah it was P's fault that Minnesota returned to fumbles for TDs.

No, but it starts to seem like less of a coincidence when it's East Carolina, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, North Carolina State, North Carolina State in consecutive seasons.

And I'm probably the second-biggest Pasqualoni supporter around here, after you. But the McNabb-era teams were unprepared and unmotivated against mediocre non-league opponents on a yearly basis; the coach bears some responsibility for those repeated upsets.

 

[OrangePA]

No, but it starts to seem like less of a coincidence when it's East Carolina, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, North Carolina State, North Carolina State in consecutive seasons.

And I'm probably the second-biggest Pasqualoni supporter around here, after you. But the McNabb-era teams were unprepared and unmotivated against mediocre non-league opponents on a yearly basis; the coach bears some responsibility for those repeated upsets.

I just can't blame the coaches for that loss.

The Orange pushed the Gophers all over the field - rushing for more than 300 yards - our players were obviously motivated and prepared.

The loss resulted from two bizzare plays - a once in a coaching career situation - where two fumbles are returned for TDs in a span of two or three minutes.

NC State at the Dome was a fumble on the one yard line and a loss in OT.

The loss at NC State as the product of an athlete we simply could not contain that night - a great athlete - the best player on the field - Torry Holt. Those kinds of losses revealed that the Orange was probably not as talented - on the whole - as many of us figured.

East Carolina was a tough team. I recall their coach Steve Logan commenting that the Orange was not as talented as many presumed.

And he was right.

I just can't get upset over a few isolated losses over a few years - especially after what we have seen since 2005.

 

[joct]

What made that 1996 Minnesota loss so frustrating was after that, they won 8 straight, all by at least 21 points. I don't remember an 8 game stretch with results like that. The loss in week 1 to UNC was tough, as UNC was starting to come up under Mack Brown if I remember, and they ended it with a tough loss at home to Miami where they made a good comeback but fell short.

 

[CusefanATL]

No, but it starts to seem like less of a coincidence when it's East Carolina, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, North Carolina State, North Carolina State in consecutive seasons.

And I'm probably the second-biggest Pasqualoni supporter around here, after you. But the McNabb-era teams were unprepared and unmotivated against mediocre non-league opponents on a yearly basis; the coach bears some responsibility for those repeated upsets.

you can add texas the year we were ranked in the top 3 preseason (93)

 

[wfschrec]

I just can't blame the coaches for that loss.

The Orange pushed the Gophers all over the field - rushing for more than 300 yards - our players were obviously motivated and prepared.

The loss resulted from two bizzare plays - a once in a coaching career situation - where two fumbles are returned for TDs in a span of two or three minutes.

NC State at the Dome was a fumble on the one yard line and a loss in OT.

The loss at NC State as the product of an athlete we simply could not contain that night - a great athlete - the best player on the field - Torry Holt. Those kinds of losses revealed that the Orange was probably not as talented - on the whole - as many of us figured.

East Carolina was a tough team. I recall their coach Steve Logan commenting that the Orange was not as talented as many presumed.

And he was right.

I just can't get upset over a few isolated losses over a few years - especially after what we have seen since 2005.

The NC State fumble was all on the coaches ... they were right in the middle of the field ... in chip shot FG range to win the game and decided it was a good idea to pound it with Dee Brown instead of just kneeling on it and then lining up for a FG ... sorry that was all on the coach ... never should have happened ... as far as a few "isolated" losses in a college season you can't have them ... they knock you out of Bowl contention or the NC discussion or conf championship discussion very quickly ... its not a 30+ game season like hoops where a bad loss can be overcome ... sorry but the job they were doing down the tail end of Ps reign was not a good one at all ...

 

[Scooch]

I don't recall that game being on TV (what a difference 15 years makes, now everything is on "TV"). Did we play our usual soft prevent D that allowed them to kick those last 2 FGs?

 

[SUFan44]

The NC State fumble was all on the coaches ... they were right in the middle of the field ... in chip shot FG range to win the game and decided it was a good idea to pound it with Dee Brown instead of just kneeling on it and then lining up for a FG ... sorry that was all on the coach ... never should have happened ... as far as a few "isolated" losses in a college season you can't have them ... they knock you out of Bowl contention or the NC discussion or conf championship discussion very quickly ... its not a 30+ game season like hoops where a bad loss can be overcome ... sorry but the job they were doing down the tail end of Ps reign was not a good one at all ...

I might add that Dee Brown was a redshirt freshman who was playing in his second collegiate game, as opposed to Rob Konrad or Donovan McNabb.

I'd also like to add that they were not prepared for the two-point conversion in OT. It was a quick decision, but they were seemingly caught off guard. Which is a direct reflection of the head football coach.

I don't care if it was by 0.01 points, the NC St. loss in 1997 should not have happened and the head coach had a lot to do with the outcome.

 

[Eric15]

The NC State fumble was all on the coaches ... they were right in the middle of the field ... in chip shot FG range to win the game and decided it was a good idea to pound it with Dee Brown instead of just kneeling on it and then lining up for a FG

In fairness, if there was a bad snap or a bad hold or the kicker shanked the kick, wouldn't everyone be saying, "Gosh, why wouldn't we just pound it in from 1 yard away! The chances of fumbling on the goal-line are virtually zero. Coach P is just too conservative!"

 

[Eric15]

you can add texas the year we were ranked in the top 3 preseason (93)

Not to nit-pick, but we were actually preseason #6 that year coming off a very successful 1992 season.

 

[JeremyCuse]

I just can't blame the coaches for that loss.

The Orange pushed the Gophers all over the field - rushing for more than 300 yards - our players were obviously motivated and prepared.

The loss resulted from two bizzare plays - a once in a coaching career situation - where two fumbles are returned for TDs in a span of two or three minutes.

NC State at the Dome was a fumble on the one yard line and a loss in OT.

The loss at NC State as the product of an athlete we simply could not contain that night - a great athlete - the best player on the field - Torry Holt. Those kinds of losses revealed that the Orange was probably not as talented - on the whole - as many of us figured.

East Carolina was a tough team. I recall their coach Steve Logan commenting that the Orange was not as talented as many presumed.

And he was right.

I just can't get upset over a few isolated losses over a few years - especially after what we have seen since 2005.

So the East Carolina loss is OK because the team wasnt as talented according to the coach from East Carolina? How was he right?

So what game are you willing to admit was a bad job by P and the Staff? Purdue blow out? People in this thread have mentioned 5-7 different examples of bad losses, I wouldnt call that "a few isolated losses".

 

[Eric15]

What made that 1996 Minnesota loss so frustrating was after that, they won 8 straight, all by at least 21 points. I don't remember an 8 game stretch with results like that. The loss in week 1 to UNC was tough, as UNC was starting to come up under Mack Brown if I remember, and they ended it with a tough loss at home to Miami where they made a good comeback but fell short.

That Miami game was absolutely devastating. If we win that, we go the Orange Bowl, which would have meant 3 straight BCS-level bowls. But instead, because our fans don't travel to bowl games, we fell all the way to the Liberty Bowl.

My two memories from that 96 Miami game are a very controversial fumble call on a punt, and then Tremain Mack taking a kickoff 100 yards to the house right before the end of the first half.

 

[JeremyCuse]

No, but it starts to seem like less of a coincidence when it's East Carolina, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, North Carolina State, North Carolina State in consecutive seasons.

And I'm probably the second-biggest Pasqualoni supporter around here, after you. But the McNabb-era teams were unprepared and unmotivated against mediocre non-league opponents on a yearly basis; the coach bears some responsibility for those repeated upsets.

Spot on, It got old real quick starting off 0-1 0-2 every year under Coach P and then looking like a top 15 team ripping off 7-8 wins in a row. Looking back at some of those losses now just makes me cringe and brings back awful memories especially the Oklahoma and NCState games.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

I don't care if it was by 0.01 points, the NC St. loss in 1997 should not have happened and the head coach had a lot to do with the outcome.

SU was a 24.5 point home favorite.

Oops.

 

[CusefanATL]

Not to nit-pick, but we were actually preseason #6 that year coming off a very successful 1992 season.

but #1 in the heart of hugh hefner...

that was the 1st playboy my dad ever purchased for the family...

 

[Eric15]

but #1 in the heart of hugh hefner...

that was the 1st playboy my dad ever purchased for the family...

Oh the 90s, when procuring porn took legitimate effort.

 

[OttoMets]

That Miami game was absolutely devastating. If we win that, we go the Orange Bowl, which would have meant 3 straight BCS-level bowls. But instead, because our fans don't travel to bowl games, we fell all the way to the Liberty Bowl.

My two memories from that 96 Miami game are a very controversial fumble call on a punt, and then Tremain Mack taking a kickoff 100 yards to the house right before the end of the first half.

My lone memory is a Deon Maddox fumble that he lost as he was fighting to get out of bounds (down by a touchdown late in the game) in order to stop the clock. Despite the fact that he'd made a first-down catch which would, of course, stop the clock. Doh!


The early-season losses (mostly in the McNabb years; given what happened in Big East play in 1993, things like the Texas tie hurt a little less) are difficult to get around. I may be wrong to add Carolina State in 1998 - Holt was the wrong guy against our soft defense, Spotwood tore his ACL early on, we were playing in a monsoon - but all those others were varying degrees of inexcusable. The numbers agree with that (we were favored in most, if not all); more damning is what we saw: an uninspired team. Those guys were rarely up for non-league games (Jason Walter said as much in 1997 after the NCSU game) and we lost because of it. Does blame go to the coaching staff? I think some of it does. Surely some goes to the players, too.

 

[OttoMets]

I just can't blame the coaches for that loss.

The Orange pushed the Gophers all over the field - rushing for more than 300 yards - our players were obviously motivated and prepared.

The loss resulted from two bizzare plays - a once in a coaching career situation - where two fumbles are returned for TDs in a span of two or three minutes.

NC State at the Dome was a fumble on the one yard line and a loss in OT.

The loss at NC State as the product of an athlete we simply could not contain that night - a great athlete - the best player on the field - Torry Holt. Those kinds of losses revealed that the Orange was probably not as talented - on the whole - as many of us figured.

East Carolina was a tough team. I recall their coach Steve Logan commenting that the Orange was not as talented as many presumed.

And he was right.

I just can't get upset over a few isolated losses over a few years - especially after what we have seen since 2005.

I wouldn't say we should be upset about those losses, but they were really disappointing at the time. And I'd argue they represented an underachievement - most of those non-league losses came to teams who would have been back-of-the-pack in the Big East in those years.

If we came out for NCSU and Oklahoma in 1997 like we came out for Miami later that year, we'd have beat them by 30.

 

[wfschrec]

In fairness, if there was a bad snap or a bad hold or the kicker shanked the kick, wouldn't everyone be saying, "Gosh, why wouldn't we just pound it in from 1 yard away! The chances of fumbling on the goal-line are virtually zero. Coach P is just too conservative!"

I suppose that is true ... still as noted above Brown was only a redshirt frosh ... i didn't like the call in that situation.

 

[OrangePA]

I wouldn't say we should be upset about those losses, but they were really disappointing at the time. And I'd argue they represented an underachievement - most of those non-league losses came to teams who would have been back-of-the-pack in the Big East in those years.

If we came out for NCSU and Oklahoma in 1997 like we came out for Miami later that year, we'd have beat them by 30.

Yes, of course, those losses were disappointing, but I think the teams we lost to were probably better from a talent standpoint tha most presume.

But, yes we should have won those games and the losses were disappointing.

And yes, the OK loss was also disappointing, especially after we came back and took the lead with seconds to go. The penalty after the TD was the dagger in that one.

 

[Jeepers]

Where's the best place to get tickets for the '12 game? Not seeing anything besides resellers.

 

[rrlbees]

I just can't blame the coaches for that loss.

The Orange pushed the Gophers all over the field - rushing for more than 300 yards - our players were obviously motivated and prepared.

The loss resulted from two bizzare plays - a once in a coaching career situation - where two fumbles are returned for TDs in a span of two or three minutes.

NC State at the Dome was a fumble on the one yard line and a loss in OT.

The loss at NC State as the product of an athlete we simply could not contain that night - a great athlete - the best player on the field - Torry Holt. Those kinds of losses revealed that the Orange was probably not as talented - on the whole - as many of us figured.

East Carolina was a tough team. I recall their coach Steve Logan commenting that the Orange was not as talented as many presumed.

And he was right.

I just can't get upset over a few isolated losses over a few years - especially after what we have seen since 2005.

Unless I am getting games confused that loss at NCSt was not just Holt being great but was also due to our best DB coming off an injury and being rushed back and not ready, our best WR getting hurt during the week and our QB puking on the field because he was "sick".

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