CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1997 Syracuse

9–⁠4 (6–⁠1 Big East), coached by Paul Pasqualoni, finished No. 21 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Syracuse in 1997, game by game: won vs. No. 24 Wisconsin 34–0; lost vs. NC State 31–32; lost at Oklahoma 34–36; lost at No. 22 Virginia Tech 3–31; won vs. Tulane 30–19; won vs. East Carolina 56–0; won at Rutgers 50–3; won vs. Temple 60–7; won vs. No. 17 West Virginia 40–10; won vs. Boston College 20–13; won at Pittsburgh 32–27; won at Miami 33–13; lost vs. No. 10 Kansas State 18–35+56−28Won 34–0 vs. No. 24 Wisconsin+34No. 24 WisconsinLost 31–32 vs. NC State-1NC StateLost 34–36 at Oklahoma-2OklahomaLost 3–31 at No. 22 Virginia Tech-28No. 22 Virginia TechWon 30–19 vs. Tulane+11TulaneWon 56–0 vs. East Carolina+56East CarolinaWon 50–3 at Rutgers+47RutgersWon 60–7 vs. Temple+53TempleWon 40–10 vs. No. 17 West Virginia+30No. 17 West VirginiaWon 20–13 vs. Boston College+7Boston CollegeWon 32–27 at Pittsburgh+5PittsburghWon 33–13 at Miami+20MiamiLost 18–35 vs. No. 10 Kansas State-17No. 10 Kansas State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 24vs24WisconsinW 34–⁠059%
Aug 30vsNC StateL 31–⁠3283%
Sep 6atOklahomaL 34–⁠3671%
Sep 13at22Virginia TechL 3–⁠3138%
Sep 20vsTulaneW 30–⁠1982%
Oct 4vsEast CarolinaW 56–⁠069%
Oct 9atRutgersW 50–⁠382%
Oct 18vsTempleW 60–⁠788%
Nov 1vs17West VirginiaW 40–⁠1061%
Nov 8vsBoston CollegeW 20–⁠1388%
Nov 15atPittsburghW 32–⁠2774%
Nov 29atMiamiW 33–⁠1361%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvs10Kansas StateFiesta BowlL 18–⁠3547%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Kansas State 35–⁠18 in the Fiesta Bowl; No. 21 in the final AP poll; Big East champions.

In program history: The 10th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 17
  2. Wk 2: 13
  3. Wk 12: 22
  4. Wk 13: 21
  5. Wk 14: 18
  6. Wk 15: 16
  7. Wk 16: 15
  8. Wk 17: 14
  9. Final: 21

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1997.

Big East champions6–⁠1 in the conference

Record
9–⁠4
Conference
6–⁠1 first in Big East
AP final
No. 21 peak No. 13
Points
441–⁠226
Coach
Paul Pasqualoni
Elo
1693 +61 this season
SP+ rating
13.7 No. 26 of 112; offense No. 24, defense No. 32
SRS
9.5 No. 27 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Kevin Rogers
Defensive coordinator
Norm Gerber
Captains
Keith Downing, Donovin Darius, Rod Gadson and Brad Patkochis

Drafted in 1998

The 1998 draft
Rd 1Tebucky Jones DBNew England Patriots
Rd 1Donovin Darius DBJacksonville Jaguars
Rd 4Roland Williams TESt. Louis Rams
Rd 7Antwaune Ponds LBWashington Redskins
Rd 7Jim Turner WRCarolina Panthers

All-Big East

4 first team, 5 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1997 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1997 Big East standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Syracuse6–⁠19–⁠421
Virginia Tech5–⁠27–⁠5
West Virginia4–⁠37–⁠5
Pittsburgh4–⁠36–⁠6
Miami3–⁠45–⁠6
Boston College3–⁠44–⁠7
Temple3–⁠43–⁠8
Rutgers0–⁠70–⁠11

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.