Orange Extra: Is There a Pattern Here?

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Syracuse continues its three-game homestand to start the season when it hosts Middle Tennessee Saturday. Beginning the campaign with three consecutive home contests is extremely rare and two straight is uncommon as well.

Since the 1943 football season was suspended because of World War II, Syracuse has begun its year with back-to-back home games 16 times. Over that span of time, the Orange posted five 2-0 results, two 1-0-1 outcomes, eight 1-1 conclusions and one 0-2 finish. The combined total of decisions in the 16 chosen seasons is 20-10-2.

The Orange opened with unblemished 2-0 home-game starts twice in the last seven campaigns – 2011 and 2015.

GOING IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS
For the second straight weekend, Syracuse is up against a "directional" foe – that is an opponent with a geographic whereabouts in its name. The Orange defeated Central Connecticut State 50-7 in the campaign beginner on Sept. 1. This Saturday Syracuse welcomes Middle Tennessee.

That's not the end of the compass categories on the 2017 slate. In another week, the Orange host Central Michigan and on Sept. 21 Syracuse plays at North Carolina State.

Here are a few historical notes regarding Syracuse competing against institutions with general locations in their names:

Middle Tennessee represents the 16th "directional" foe Syracuse has competed against.
Including last Friday's win against Central Connecticut State, Syracuse is 62-60 all-time versus "directional" opponents.
Syracuse's most common foe in this category is West Virginia. The Orange and Mountaineers have played 60 times and Syracuse owns a 33-27 advantage in the series.
The Orange are 7-3 versus East Carolina, representing the top winning rate against a "directional" foe (minimum five games).
Syracuse is unbeaten against teams with Central in their name: Central Connecticut State (1-0), Central Florida (3-0) and Central Michigan (3-0).
The program's first-ever pairing with a "directional" foe was in 1913. The Orange defeated Western Reserve, 36-0.

PLAYING AGAINST AN OLD BOSS
It will look a bit odd seeing Scott Shafer on the visiting team sideline this Saturday. Shafer was on the Syracuse coaching staff as an assistant from 2009-12 and as head coach from 2013-15. The Orange won two New Era Pinstripe Bowl titles while Shafer was an assistant and claimed the Texas Bowl in his first season as head coach. He is now in his first campaign as the defensive coordinator at Middle Tennessee.

Shafer is not the first former Syracuse head coach to work against the Orange. Paul Pasqualoni, who served as an assistant coach under Dick MacPherson and then as head coach from 1991-2004, went up against the Orange as the head coach at Connecticut. More recently, he's game-planned for Syracuse in his current role as an assistant at Boston College.

Clarence "Biggie" Munn was Syracuse's head coach in 1946. The following season, Munn took over at Michigan State, a post he held for seven seasons. He guided Michigan State to a 9-0 record and a national championship in 1952. The undefeated campaign included a 48-7 victory against Syracuse in East Lansing, Mich.

Howard H. Jones was Syracuse's head coach in 1908. The following season, he took the helm at Yale and guided the Bulldogs past Syracuse, 15-0.
Even further back, former coach Edwin R. Sweetland led Colgate against Syracuse in 1908. He had served as Syracuse's head coach from 1900-02. Sweetland's Colgate squad defeated Syracuse, 6-0.

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