Week 2 of season reminiscing -- 1998

[Eric15]

Shady equipment penalties, shady pass interference calls, blowing Michigan out, stealing their banner, pesky NC State, McNabb to Brominski, taking Miami behind the woodshed on Senior Day, Orange Bowl.

What are your best memories from this year? What away games did you attend?

 

[KaiserUEO]

Went to every game but @wv and the bowl.

For that was not the bowl the Orange were supposed to play in.

Talked about this year ad nauseam on here, even in real time back in the day.

I’ll pass...

 

[NJCuse97]

My first year out of school, so it wasn’t the same feeling. For some reason my best memories of the season were the Tenn and the Florida games. Bookends to the season and two disappointing losses. I was at the Tenn game and remember it being packed. I thought they were overrated and there was no way Martin could hold Manning’s jock. Very frustrating. Watching the Orange Bowl with non-SU friends and getting embarrassed (they beat us easy) was not fun. Drinking that hard that soon after NYE was cause for the beginnings of bitterness with the team leadership

 

[HOFCeluck]

I will never forget coming home late from work, and watching the last series of the VT game.

 

[sutomcat]

Shady equipment penalties, shady pass interference calls, blowing Michigan out, stealing their banner, pesky NC State, McNabb to Brominski, taking Miami behind the woodshed on Senior Day, Orange Bowl.

What are your best memories from this year? What away games did you attend?

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That Rutgers game was the most points they had given up since 1890. The game was over in the first 3 minutes.

Rutgers, always doing Rutgers things. It is good they brought their traditions with them to the B1G.

 

[Eric15]

Went to every game but @wv and the bowl.

For that was not the bowl the Orange were supposed to play in.

Talked about this year ad nauseam on here, even in real time back in the day.

I’ll pass...

Come on, there has to be some legendary late-90s Kaiser anecdote at one of these away games. Did you go to any Backstreet Boys concerts the same weekend as any of these games and get pulled on stage?

 

[rocklloyd]

I remember it being 900 degrees inside the dome for TN game and sweat pouring off my body

 

[NJCuse97]

Serious question; if we get Game Day, is there a chance the Michigan banner makes an appearance?

 

[Eric15]

Random thought about Va Tech: Charley Steiner was the play-by-play guy in that game. He's one of my all-time favorite Sportscaster personalities, and I'm not aware of him calling all that many games in person over the years.

 

[cusefan88]

I'm a late 80's baby so the TN game is the first time i felt you can jobbed by the officials. the first of many...

 

[OburgOrange]

McNabb to Brominski happened right in front of me. Apparently I had a really good time on Marshall st. afterward

 

[KaiserUEO]

Come on, there has to be some legendary late-90s Kaiser anecdote at one of these away games. Did you go to any Backstreet Boys concerts the same weekend as any of these games and get pulled on stage?

As if...

*NSYNC to the core!! I’m a TN Kid!!!



That season...ugh.

 

[buffalorange]

Shady equipment penalties, shady pass interference calls, blowing Michigan out, stealing their banner, pesky NC State, McNabb to Brominski, taking Miami behind the woodshed on Senior Day, Orange Bowl.

What are your best memories from this year? What away games did you attend?

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My wife and I attended all the home games. TN was unbelievably frustrating. Have never seen those equipment penalties called before, or since. VT was really exciting. Miami was fun. My memory is that SU did not deliberately run up the score. It seemed every time we touched the ball we scored. The back-ups scored on running plays. We sure as hell didn't run trick plays when we were so far ahead.

I also remember the crowds. And the noise! Even the RU game had over 40,000 fans. That has to be intimidating to visiting teams.

 

[Faegan]

Four years out of college, I was in Mass with my brother at our grandparents for the Michigan game... I had told him that we were going to be awesome. I remember him being blown away by our offense and the swagger we displayed at the Big House.

I remember one play in particular when Spotwood went out for a quick hitch and caught it. He popped up off the ground with the ball and the field mic caught him saying "All day, baby. All day" as he walked past the Michigan DB.

I believe that was the home opening for the newly renovated/expanded Big House. We played and acted like all of that work was done just for us. Glorious.

 

[OttoMets]

I remember how miserably hot the walk to the Tennessee game (nooner) was, how hot it was in the upper deck of the Dome, and how hot it was for the rest of the weekend right up until the Labor Day Storm.

And then there was no electricity for 5 or 6 days afterward. I had pretty much no hope for the Michigan game.

My wife and I attended all the home games. TN was unbelievably frustrating. Have never seen those equipment penalties called before, or since. VT was really exciting. Miami was fun. My memory is that SU did not deliberately run up the score. It seemed every time we touched the ball we scored. The back-ups scored on running plays. We sure as hell didn't run trick plays when we were so far ahead.

I also remember the crowds. And the noise! Even the RU game had over 40,000 fans. That has to be intimidating to visiting teams.

Yup, Pasqualoni was (as usual) conservative in the second half. We had a third-string defensive lineman (Giovanni something) score our last touchdown. We could've scored 80 that night.

 

[OttoMets]

...

I believe that was the home opening for the newly renovated/expanded Big House. We played and acted like all of that work was done just for us. Glorious.

Might've been their second home game? But it was definitely the first year for the expanded stadium and our game was the largest crowd to ever watch a college football game at that time.

 

[StopCoolio]

My sophomore year.

-The Tennessee game was obviously fixed by the SEC crew. Has anyone ever seen a penalty for illegal uniform(!!) since then? And then the phantom PI in the end zone when the closest ref is signalling incomplete. I hit one of the refs in the back with a cup of ice as they left the field.

-I was only a soph and wasn't familiar enough with P yet. I thought we'd win at NC State. Silly me.

-Miami game was probably the loudest I ever heard the Dome. There was like no room to move or sit. We would have crushed any team in the country that day.

-McNabb was just masterful all season. Really an indictment on P that he didn't get invited to the Heisman ceremony.

 

[Scooch]

My third season of being a post-graduation alumni season ticket holder. Made the 5 hour drive from CT for 5 of the 6 homes games (I think I only missed Pitt on Halloween).

This was the year that DeLeone came back from his one year NFL stint to be our DC, right? Sigh.

I remember how even though we had lost the opener, after the Michigan win we were still considered to be in the national title hunt. That NC State loss was so disheartening, and IIRC McNabb was playing through the effects of a good time the night before.

Still, the VaTech comeback was an all-timer. I rushed the field like thousands of others, but for some reason an overzealous security guard decided to tackle me, wrenched my knee, which hurt for a week afterwards. Jerk.

The Miami blowout was glorious. Almost surreal.

Sadly, laying an egg in the Orange Bowl, after losing in the Fiesta the prior year, and carrying 3 losses into each game, hurt the Big East's perception for a while. Which was a shame because it was a damn good football conference in the late 90s/early 00s. I'll be honest, I miss it.

 

[KaiserUEO]

My sophomore year.

-The Tennessee game was obviously fixed by the SEC crew. Has anyone ever seen a penalty for illegal uniform(!!) since then? And then the phantom PI in the end zone when the closest ref is signalling incomplete. I hit one of the refs in the back with a cup of ice as they left the field.

-I was only a soph and wasn't familiar enough with P yet. I thought we'd win at NC State. Silly me.

-Miami game was probably the loudest I ever heard the Dome. There was like no room to move or sit. We would have crushed any team in the country that day.

-McNabb was just masterful all season. Really an indictment on P that he didn't get invited to the Heisman ceremony.

2 completely unnecessary shots at P there.

P did not lose Syracuse the Tenn game, you said so yourself.

P did not hurt Will Allen and instruct Tory Holt to exploit that and destroy Syracuse.

@WV is always a tough place to play and season was already shot.

Bowl game? Whatever who cared??

McNabb did not deserve to be in NYC.

McNabb was drafted where should’ve been, if you want to argue #1 fine, I would’ve preferred him there but Couch was the prototype and #2 is damn good.

McNabb had a better career than anyone not named Champ Bailey in that entire draft.

 

[lincolncuse]

Random thought about Va Tech: Charley Steiner was the play-by-play guy in that game. He's one of my all-time favorite Sportscaster personalities, and I'm not aware of him calling all that many games in person over the years.

Doesn’t he call Dodger games now?

 

[OttoMets]

2 completely unnecessary shots at P there.

P did not lose Syracuse the Tenn game, you said so yourself.

P did not hurt Will Allen and instruct Tory Holt to exploit that and destroy Syracuse.

@WV is always a tough place to play and season was already shot.

Bowl game? Whatever who cared??

McNabb did not deserve to be in NYC.

McNabb was drafted where should’ve been, if you want to argue #1 fine, I would’ve preferred him there but Couch was the prototype and #2 is damn good.

McNabb had a better career than anyone not named Champ Bailey in that entire draft.

Kaiser defending McNabb, strange times we're living in...

P didn't lose the UT game...but settling for that field goal when we couldn't get a stop was one of those face-palm decisions.

I still blame Phil Nash for his crazy late hit out of bounds giving away free yards on the last drive more than I do the refs. Putting emotion aside after 20+ years (holy s---), the Allen play wasn't as clear-cut a bad call as some people remember.

 

[All4SU]

My son was 12 at the time, and his two favorite schools were SU and Michigan. His best friend was a UM fan, and early on we made plans to drive to Michigan to see the game. The other boys Dad had just passed away suddenly about a year earlier, so the boy and his Uncle, my son and I made the road trip together.

The atmosphere was incredible. We stayed at a small motel about four miles from the stadium, and walked to the game through throngs of Michigan fans. The stadium was an impressive shallow bowl and we had decent seats in an SU section. When the UM fans grew increasingly silent, it was a wonderful sound. Their excitement turned to frustration then turned to anger then turned to depression and resignation. The SU fans, elation.

When the game was over, the boys ran to the spot where the SU team was exiting into the tunnel, and it was mobbed with SU fans applauding the team.
As the players ran underneath, my son’s favorite player, WR Darryl Daniel, removed his gloves and tossed them up directly at my son. An adult SU fan, reached in front of him and grabbed the gloves for himself. He still talks about missing his chance to have those gloves. I hope that guy never knows what a thrill he snatched away from a 12-year old boy.

There’s a picture from that game that ran in the PS showing my son over the tunnel. A bittersweet visual memory. Great game. Great road trip.

 

[Doc5120]

'98 may be one the seasons I most vividly recall - because it was so entertaining and I wasn't old enough to drink. Had seasons with my Dad & one of my younger brothers.

The atmosphere in the Dome for the TN game was like nothing I had experienced. In < 4 months, we'll get that again with Clemson. Anyway, the BS flag for the uniform infraction and PI call still bother me to this day.

Our seats were in the 3rd level of the endzone where the McNabb to Brominski play happened. It was directly in front of us. I'll never forget that play and the noise throughout the Dome.

Sadly, what I may remember most is not being able to attend the Miami game because I had a HS basketball scrimmage game that day. I was a Jr in HS and rode the bench all season, but since it was a scrimmage and some of our guys were still playing on our football team (that advanced deep into post season play) I got plenty of PT that day. I would have traded it in a heartbeat to be there for that beatdown and McNabb's send off. If memory serves, we listened to some of the game on the bus ride back to school. It definitely was not the same as being at the Dome.

 

[sufandu]

I was at the VaTech game. Opposite corner from McNabb to Brominski. I remember the McNabb int where he chases the guy down from behind and the guy conveniently "fumbled" forward to a teammate for a touchdown. Should've been a fwd lateral with the ball spotted at the point of the lateral minus the penalty.

This was a fun and frustrating season. A lot of great moments combined with a whole bunch of could've-beens.

 

[sufandu]

My son was 12 at the time, and his two favorite schools were SU and Michigan. His best friend was a UM fan, and early on we made plans to drive to Michigan to see the game. The other boys Dad had just passed away suddenly about a year earlier, so the boy and his Uncle, my son and I made the road trip together.

The atmosphere was incredible. We stayed at a small motel about four miles from the stadium, and walked to the game through throngs of Michigan fans. The stadium was an impressive shallow bowl and we had decent seats in an SU section. When the UM fans grew increasingly silent, it was a wonderful sound. Their excitement turned to frustration then turned to anger then turned to depression and resignation. The SU fans, elation.

When the game was over, the boys ran to the spot where the SU team was exiting into the tunnel, and it was mobbed with SU fans applauding the team.
As the players ran underneath, my son’s favorite player, WR Darryl Daniel, removed his gloves and tossed them up directly at my son. An adult SU fan, reached in front of him and grabbed the gloves for himself. He still talks about missing his chance to have those gloves. I hope that guy never knows what a thrill he snatched away from a 12-year old boy.

There’s a picture from that game that ran in the PS showing my son over the tunnel. A bittersweet visual memory. Great game. Great road trip.
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This was roughing the passer, right? Wait, Brady wasn't getting the crystal statue treatment yet.