Legends of the Pen: That 1984 Team Was Special
9/30/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 9 Legends of the Pen: College Football Time At SU
The 1984 football team honored in the Dome last week at halftime of the Colgate game was quite a group. Some of them went on to play in the NFL, some became coaches, several earned All America honors, one was runner-up for the Heisman. Some are now familiar faces and voices in television.
There are really two parts to the story. Many of the key fixtures on the '84 club were starters a year earlier when Syracuse suffered its worst loss of the 20th century. A year later they would play key roles in one of the greatest upset wins ever recorded by the Orange. The opponent in both cases was the big, bad bunch of Cornhuskers from the plains of Nebraska.
Syracuse opened up on a cold, late afternoon game in Philadelphia against Temple and simply couldn't get untracked and dropped a 17-6 contest. But then ripped off three straight wins and headed to the Midwest. SU finished the day with 299 yards of offense, but just seven points. The home club, No. 1 in the land, finished with a total of 458 yards but had an amazing 63 points. Seven of the touchdowns came on drives of less than 50 yards, four on fourth-down situations, and while only five-of-15 on third downs, had TDs on three of them. Plus they had one of the greatest backfields in the modern era, a group that signed NFL contracts for nearly $11 million, a pretty good figure in those days.
Ok, gang, time to move to 1984. With a carryover from the previous year, Syracuse had a modest five-game winning streak as it faced Rutgers in the third game of the season and the home opener. Holy Batman, the Orangemen got blanked, 19-0. Next up? Nebraska.
Again ranked No.1 and riding a 22-game regular-season win streak, even the most loyal and faithful fans did not hold out much hope. Nebraska went up 7-0 midway the first quarter but Don McAulay hit a field goal early in the second and it was 7-3 at the half.
There were some pretty good young men on the SU side of the field--Tim Green, Doug Marrone, Bob Brotzki, Todd Norley, Scott Schwedes, Tommy Kane, Mike Siano, Ted Gregory, Markus Paul, Paul Frase and, oh yes, a future great, Don McPherson. Coach Dick MacPherson had a few aces to toss back at the visitors.
The second half was all Orange. Norley tossed a 40-yard strike to Siano in the third and Harold Gayden plunged over early in the fourth. Syracuse gave up a safety to end the game and the celebrating began. Green was named Sports Illustrated's defensive player of the week. Marshall Street danced!
Nebraska coach Tom Osborne tells the story on himself. Arriving home that night, his wife greeted him at the door with a smile and simple question--"what happened?" The stuff of legends!
The 1984 football team honored in the Dome last week at halftime of the Colgate game was quite a group. Some of them went on to play in the NFL, some became coaches, several earned All America honors, one was runner-up for the Heisman. Some are now familiar faces and voices in television.
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