Countdown to Kickoff: Bowl Success
8/14/2004 11:39:50 PM | Football
The first bowl appearance by a Syracuse team was at the 1953 Orange Bowl. Bart Starr led an Alabama team that spoiled Syracuse’s debut with 61-6 victory. Jim Brown led SU to its second bowl game in 1957, the Cotton Bowl. Brown scored 21 of Syracuse’s 27 points but the Orange lost to TCU, 28-27. Syracuse returned to the Orange Bowl in 1959. The Orange played much better than their first performance but still lost to the Oklahoma Sooners.
Ernie Davis led the Orange to the 1959 Cotton Bowl against Texas, with the winner to be declared the National Champions. Davis totaled 144 yards and scored 16 points to lead Syracuse over the Longhorns 23-14. The win marked the only National Championship season for Syracuse. Davis also led Syracuse to a 15-14 victory over Miami (Fl) in the 1961 Liberty Bowl.
Syracuse played in four more bowls from 1965 to 1985, including a 31-7 victory against McNeese State in the 1979 Independence Bowl.
The Orange finished the 1987 season undefeated and was invited to play Auburn in the Sugar Bowl. The Tigers kicked a last second field goal to tie the game at 16 and put the only blemish on SU’s 11-0-1 season.
Syracuse rebounded to win bowl games the next five seasons, including the 1993 Fiesta Bowl. Quarterback Marvin Graves was named MVP in three straight bowl games and Pasqualoni was the coach for the last two of the bowl victories. Coach P and QB Donovan McNabb led Syracuse to the most-lopsided victory in SU history when the Orange defeated Clemson 41-0 at the 1996 Gator Bowl. McNabb led the Orange to three more bowl games, including two BCS games.
In 2001 Syracuse defeated Kansas State 26-3 in the Insight.com Bowl. The win gave the Orange its 10th victory, making the 2001 squad only the sixth SU team to win 10 or more games in one season. It was the third time during Pasqualoni’s tenure that SU put 10 wins on the board.
Syracuse begins the season on Sunday, September 5 at Purdue. The game kicks off at 1:30 p.m. and will be televised nationally on ABC. SU then plays at Buffalo on September 11 at 6:00 p.m. The Orange kicks off the home portion of the schedule on Saturday, September 18 against Cincinnati at 12:00 p.m. SU will also host Rutgers (Oct. 2 at 12:00 p.m.), Florida State (Oct. 9), Connecticut (Oct. 30) and Pittsburgh (Nov. 6).
For ticket information and prices, call the Carrier Dome box office at 1-888-DOMETIX. Tickets are available at the Carrier Dome Box Office (Gate B), by telephone (888-DOMETIX) or on the Internet www.dometix.com
