Syracuse Orangemen Football Tickets

Paul Pasqualoni had 11 winning seasons in his first 11 years but in his final 3 went just 4-8,6-6 and 6-6. In his final season (2004) they faced the toughest schedule of any BE team (#47) facing non-conf foes Purdue, Virginia and Fla St. They also had their lowest attendance in the Carrier Dome in 18 years but made it to a bowl. Pasqualoni's job appeared secure until a 51 -14 rout at the hands of GT. Last year Greg Robinson inherited a veteran defense and as mentioned in the coaches section, showed big-time improvement. Pasqualoni had rules against dreadlocks, jewelry and facial hair but Robinson allowed those things in 2005. SU had four BE home games but had their usual tough non-conf slate (Virg, FSU, ND). Orange fans were enthusiastic but any time you switch from an option based attack to the West Coast offense, you can expect a 3 to 4 year learning process (ask ND and Nebraska). The Orange saw their total offense go from 349 ypg to a paltry 257, the third worst in the NCAA. They topped 300 yards justthree times including 302 in the final vs L'ville. That was a veteran Syracuse team with 17 of their 22 starters being upperclassmen at midseason, but they finished just 1-10 which was their worst mark since 1948 and their first 10 loss season in school history. A 17. yard fumble return for a TD provided Cincinnati the winning points in the Carrier Dome. When they faced Rutgers, the Knights had the worst defense in the Big East but held Syracuse to just 116 yards on their first 13 poss. In their final home game, with 21 seniors and retiring the #44, they lost to USF, 27-0. They gave up a 19 yard FG to Virginia on the last play and lost by 3. They only trailed ND 14-3 at the hajf and UL 27-17 in the 40 but was -141.7 ypg in league play. Their 73 total points in league play was the worst in the Big East since 2001 (Rutgers 36). As mentioned, last year's offense was woeful with 13.8 ppg their lowest since 1984 (13.7). Now in the 2nd year of the new offense, there will be some improvement even with just 6 starters back. While this is the second year in Robinson's system, SU does return the fewest starters in the BE and also must play 4 league road games. The Orange defense had 9 starters back last year and made improvements in the ppg allowed (26.8) and ypg (373). This year they lose 6 of their top 8 tacklers and have just 4 starters back on that side but could be tougher to score upon (offense hopefully staying on the field longer.

Syracuse Orangemen Football 2006 Schedule