All-American quarterback Don McPherson (above) will join more than 40 of his 1987 teammates in returning to Syracuse this weekend to celebrate their undefeated season.
Paying Respect To The 1987 Football Team
10/2/2007 2:56:10 PM | Football
Game Notes
Greg Robinson's Press Conference Transcript
The undefeated 1987 Syracuse football squad will be honored during Saturday's contest against No. 12/13 West Virginia. On hand will be more than 40 members of one of the most successful teams in school history. Quarterback Don McPherson and defensive lineman Paul Frase will be honorary captains for the game (12:00 p.m., ESPN Regional). Click here to purchse tickets or call the Carrier Dome Box Office (888-DOMETIX). Fans are encouraged to use the 'Print at Home' ticket feature to avoid waiting in line at the Dome on gameday.
Greg Robinson's Press Conference Transcript
The undefeated 1987 Syracuse football squad will be honored during Saturday's contest against No. 12/13 West Virginia. On hand will be more than 40 members of one of the most successful teams in school history. Quarterback Don McPherson and defensive lineman Paul Frase will be honorary captains for the game (12:00 p.m., ESPN Regional). Click here to purchse tickets or call the Carrier Dome Box Office (888-DOMETIX). Fans are encouraged to use the 'Print at Home' ticket feature to avoid waiting in line at the Dome on gameday.
The '87 team rolled throught the schedule, beating the likes of Penn State, Missouri, Navy, Virginia Tech, Boston College and West Virginia, en route to an 11-0 regular season mark. The Orange tied Auburn in the 1988 Sugar Bowl when Tigers coach Pat Dye chose a PAT rather than attempting a two-point conversion as time expired. The prior season the Orange finished with a 5-6 record.
"It's absolutely a tremendous thing to see what perseverance did for a football team," said Syracuse head coach Greg Robinson. "Down to the last play of the last game and they were that far away (holding fingers close together) from taking away that tie (in the Sugar Bowl), too. So to get that done and I can tell you this; to win 11 football games in a row like that is quite an accomplishment – and came that far way (holding fingers close together) from winning 12. Yes, it's a great statement to our team, you just keep working. As (Syracuse All-American and NFL All-Pro) Tim Green told them a few weeks ago about how his group went through adversity after adversity after adversity and his thing was to keep getting up – keep getting up. Eventually it will come. I have to believe that."
The '87 team finished fourth in both the Associated Press and Coaches Polls and MacPherson was honored as the Coach of the Year by many organizations.
As honorary captains, McPherson and Frase will address the 2007 Orange on Friday afternoon. Robinson is anticipating their address to include a message about perserverance and continuing to work hard to develop.
"Quite frankly, when Donnie (McPherson) and Paul (Frase) come to talk to our team on Friday, they will make that very clear," Robinson said. "I know Paul really well and I don't think Paul looks at them as being underachieving. They were just developing. Even with talking to Coach (Dick) MacPherson, I think he felt that way, too. I'm not going to say about our football team that we are underachieving. I just think we are a work-in-progress. We have an opportunity to play another game to see if we can learn from our past and develop and take another step to where we want to get to."
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