2013 Syracuse Orange football team

2013 Syracuse Orange football
Texas Bowl champion
Texas Bowl, W 21–17 vs. Minnesota
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Division	Atlantic Division
Record	7–6 (4–4 ACC)
Head coach	Scott Shafer (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	George McDonald (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Chuck Bullough (1st season)
Home stadium	Carrier Dome

2013 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Atlantic Division
No. 1 Florida State x$#		8	–	0					14	–	0
No. 8 Clemson  %		7	–	1					11	–	2
Boston College		4	–	4					7	–	6
Syracuse		4	–	4					7	–	6
Maryland		3	–	5					7	–	6
Wake Forest		2	–	6					4	–	8
NC State		0	–	8					3	–	9
Coastal Division
No. 23 Duke x		6	–	2					10	–	4
Miami (FL)		5	–	3					9	–	4
Virginia Tech		5	–	3					8	–	5
Georgia Tech		5	–	3					7	–	6
North Carolina		4	–	4					7	–	6
Pittsburgh		3	–	5					7	–	6
Virginia		0	–	8					2	–	10
Championship: Florida State 45, Duke 7
# – BCS National Champion $ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 2013 Syracuse Orange football team represented Syracuse University in the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Orange were led by first year head coach Scott Shafer and played their home games at the Carrier Dome. The season marked their first as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference, after their final season in the Big East Conference in 2012. They finished the season 7–6, 4–4 in ACC play to finish in a tie for third place in the Atlantic Division. They were invited to the Texas Bowl where they defeated Minnesota.

Previous season

Main article: 2012 Syracuse Orange football team

The Orange's 2012 season was their last as members of the Big East Conference. They finished the year with an 8–5 record, and finished as conference co-champions, with a 5–2 record in Big East play. The Orange capped off their season with a win in the 2012 New Era Pinstripe Bowl over long-time rival West Virginia.

Preseason

After the conclusion of the season, head coach Doug Marrone was mentioned by several sportswriters as a possible candidate for a head coaching job in the National Football League. On January 6, 2013, Marrone was introduced as the head coach of the Buffalo Bills. Offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett departed for Buffalo as well, leaving a number of coaching positions open. On January 9, Syracuse announced the promotion of defensive coordinator Scott Shafer to head coach. Shortly thereafter, George McDonald was announced as the new offensive coordinator, and Chuck Bullough was announced as the new defensive coordinator.

Personnel

Coaching staff

2012 Coaching staff
	Head coach Scott Shafer Offensive coaches Tim Lester – Quarterbacks George McDonald – Offensive Coordinator Rob Moore – Wide Receivers Pat Perles – Offensive Line DeAndre Smith – Running Backs Defensive coaches Chuck Bullough – Defensive Coordinator Tim Daoust – Defensive Line Donnie Henderson – Defensive Backs Clark Lea – Linebackers Support staff Bob Brotzki – Assistant Athletics Director for Player Development William Hicks – Assistant Athletics Director for Athletic Performance Kevin Van Derzee – Director of Football Operations

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	3:30 pm	vs. Penn State*	MetLife Stadium East Rutherford, NJ (rivalry)	ABC/ESPN2	L 17–23	61,202
September 7	6:00 pm	at No. 20 Northwestern*	Ryan Field Evanston, IL	BTN	L 27–48	38,033
September 14	4:00 pm	Wagner*	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY	ESPN3	W 54–0	33,299
September 21	12:30 pm	Tulane*	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY	ACCN	W 52–17	36,128
October 5	3:30 pm	No. 4 Clemson	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY	ABC/ESPN2	L 14–49	48,961
October 12	3:30 pm	at NC State	Carter–Finley Stadium Raleigh, NC	ACCRSN	W 24–10	56,639
October 19	12:30 pm	at Georgia Tech	Bobby Dodd Stadium Atlanta, GA	ACCN	L 0–56	45,704
November 2	12:30 pm	Wake Forest	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY	ACCRSN	W 13–0	38,550
November 9	3:30 pm	at Maryland	Byrd Stadium College Park, MD	ACCRSN	W 20–3	37,213
November 16	3:30 pm	at No. 2 Florida State	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL	ABC/ESPN2	L 3–59	74,491
November 23	12:30 pm	Pittsburgh	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY (rivalry)	ACCN	L 16–17	35,317
November 30	3:30 pm	Boston College	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY (rivalry)	ACCRSN	W 34–31	37,406
December 27	6:00 pm	vs. Minnesota*	Reliant Stadium Houston, TX (Texas Bowl)	ESPN	W 21–17	32,327
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

Penn State

Syracuse vs. Penn State (New York's College Classic)

1 2 3 4 Total • Nittany Lions 0 6 7 10 23 Orange 0 3 7 7 17 Date: August 31 Location: MetLife Stadium East Rutherford, NJ Game start: 3:35 PM EDT Elapsed time: 3:34 Game attendance: 61,202 Game weather: Cloudy Referee: Mike Defee Television network: ABC/ESPN2

Scoring summary 2 12:32 SU Ross Krautman 32 yd field goal SU 3–0 2 5:59 PSU Sam Fickman 36 yd field goal TIE 3–3 2 0:55 PSU Sam Fickman 35 yd field goal PSU 6–3 3 11:46 PSU Allen Robinson 51 yd pass from Christian Hackenberg (Sam Fickman kick) PSU 13–3 3 11:05 SU Jerome Smith 10 yd run (Ross Krautman kick) PSU 13–10 4 14:16 PSU Sam Fickman 46 yd field goal PSU 16–30 4 11:39 PSU Geno Lewis 54 yd pass from Christian Hackenberg (Sam Fickman kick) PSU 23–10 4 6:58 SU Jerome Smith 1 yd run (Ross Krautman kick) PSU 23–17

Previous meeting	Previous winner
2009	Penn State, 28–7

Penn State Leads Series: 43–23–5

See also: 2013 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

The Orange opened their season by traveling to MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ to renew their rivalry with the Penn State Nittany Lions. This was the 71st all-time meeting between the two schools.

Neither offense could get much going in the first half, and the score stood 6–3 in favor of Penn State at the break. The second half proved to be better for the Lions, as quarterback Christian Hackenberg lead the team to a 23–10 lead early in the 4th quarter. A Jerome Smith touchdown late in the game cut the deficit to 23–17, but the potential Orange comeback fell short when quarterback Drew Allen threw his second interception of the game late in the 4th.

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Northwestern

Syracuse at Northwestern

1 2 3 4 Total Orange 0 7 6 14 27 • #20 Wildcats 10 24 0 14 48 Date: September 7th Location: Ryan Field Evanston, IL Game start: 5:01 PM CDT Elapsed time: 3:25 Game attendance: 38,033 Game weather: 79 °F (26 °C); Wind: E 6 mph (9.7 km/h), Partly Cloudy Referee: Tom McCreesh Television network: Big Ten Network

Scoring summary 1 14:09 NU Treyvon Green 8 yd pass from Kain Colter (Jeff Budzien kick) NU 7–0 1 3:15 NU Jeff Budzien 32 yd field goal NU 10–0 2 12:38 NU Dan Vitale 20 yd pass from Trevor Siemian (Jeff Budzien kick) NU 17–0 2 9:21 NU Jeff Budzien 21 yd field goal NU 20–0 2 6:29 SU Jerome Smith 3 yd run (Ross Krautman kick) NU 20–7 2 2:38 NU Kain Colter 16 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick) NU 27–7 2 0:02 NU C. Jones 5 yd pass from Trevor Siemian (Jeff Budzien kick) NU 34–7 3 12:32 SU Kendall Moore 16 yd pass from Drew Allen (Ross Krautman kick failed) NU 34–13 4 14:48 NU Tony Jones 47 yd pass from Trevor Siemian (Jeff Budzien kick) NU 41–13 4 10:22 SU Prince-Tyson Gulley 9 yd run (Ross Krautman kick) NU 41–20 4 5:18 NU Treyvon Green 28 yd run (Jeff Budzien kick) NU 48–20 4 2:49 SU Terrel Hunt 15 yd run (Ryan Norton kick) NU 48–27

Previous meeting	Previous winner
2012	Northwestern, 42–41

Series Tied: 5–5

See also: 2013 Northwestern Wildcats football team

For the second consecutive season, the Orange lost to the Northwestern Wildcats of the Big Ten Conference.

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Wagner

Wagner at Syracuse

1 2 3 4 Total Seahawks 0 0 0 0 0 • Orange 9 28 17 0 54 Date: September 14 Location: Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY Game start: 4:00 PM EDT Elapsed time: 3:04 Game attendance: 33,209 Referee: David Epperley Television network: ESPN3

Scoring summary 1 12:17 SU Ryan Norton 34 yd field goal SU 3–0 1 2:23 SU Jerome Smith 2 yd run (Ryan Norton kick failed) SU 9–0 2 14:01 SU Prince-Tyson Gulley 30 yd pass from Terrel Hunt (Ryan Norton kick) SU 16–0 2 9:14 SU Jerome Smith 8 yd run (Ryan Norton kick) SU 23–0 2 5:34 SU D. McFarlane 3 yd run (Ryan Norton kick) SU 30–0 2 2:20 SU Chris Clark 41 yd pass from Terrel Hunt (Ryan Norton kick) SU 37–0 3 9:46 SU Ryan Norton 32 yd field goal SU 40–0 3 6:56 SU Jarrod West 65 yd pass from Terrel Hunt (Ryan Norton kick) SU 47–0 3 4:31 SU Chris Clark 4 yd pass from Drew Allen (Ryan Norton kick) SU 54–0

Syracuse Leads Series: 1–0

See also: 2013 Wagner Seahawks football team

The Orange hosted Wagner in their home opener at the Carrier Dome in the first ever meeting between the two universities.

Syracuse's offense put on a dominating performance and rolled to a 54–0 win, their first of the season.

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Tulane

Tulane at Syracuse

1 2 3 4 Total Green Wave 10 7 0 0 17 • Orange 21 21 7 3 52 Date: September 21 Location: Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY Game start: 12:30 PM EDT Elapsed time: 3:29 Game attendance: 36,128 Referee: Steve Barth Television network: ACCRSN

Scoring summary {{{Time}}} {{{Team}}} {{{Event}}} {{{Score}}}

Previous meeting	Previous winner
2011	Syracuse, 37–34

Syracuse Leads Series: 7–1

See also: 2013 Tulane Green Wave football team

Tulane visits the Carrier Dome for the first time since the 1999 season. This is the second meeting in three years between the two teams.

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Clemson

Clemson at Syracuse

1 2 3 4 Total • #3 Tigers 21 14 7 7 49 Orange 0 7 7 0 14 Date: October 5 Location: Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY Game start: 3:36 EST EDT Elapsed time: 3:24 Game attendance: 48,961 Referee: Pat Garvey Television network: ABC/ESPN2

Scoring summary {{{Time}}} {{{Team}}} {{{Event}}} {{{Score}}}

Previous meeting	Previous winner
1996	Syracuse, 41–0

Syracuse is Tied in Series: 1–1

See also: 2013 Clemson Tigers football team

The Orange's first conference game as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference was a matchup against the 3rd ranked Clemson Tigers. This was the second all-time meeting between Clemson and Syracuse, with the first ending in a 41–0 victory for the Orange in the 1996 Gator Bowl.

Clemson evened the overall series with a 49–14 victory behind a career night by Tajh Boyd who went 20 for 27 for 455 yards and 5 touchdowns.

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NC State

Syracuse at NC State

1 2 3 4 Total • Orange 0 7 3 14 24 Wolfpack 0 7 0 3 10 Date: October 12 Location: Carter–Finley Stadium Raleigh, NC Game start: 3:30 PM EDT Elapsed time: 3:20 Game attendance: 56,639 Game weather: 69 °F (21 °C); Wind: NNW 6 mph (9.7 km/h), Overcast Referee: Ron Cherry Television network: ACCRSN

Scoring summary 2 11:11 SU Jerome Smith 1 yd run (Ryan Norton kick) SU 7–0 2 1:15 NCST D. Grinnage 21 yd pass from P. Thomas (N. Sade kick) TIE 7–7 3 4:13 SU Ryan Norton 19 yd field goal SU 10–7 4 10:12 NCST N. Sade 27 yd field goal TIE 10–10 4 6:13 SU Prince-Tyson Gulley 18 yd run (Team kick failed) SU 16–10 4 2:39 SU Terrel Hunt 8 yd run (Ryan Norton rush) SU 24–10

Previous meeting	Previous winner
1998	NC State, 38–17

NC State Leads Series: 6–1

See also: 2013 NC State Wolfpack football team

Syracuse traveled to Raleigh, NC for a game against the NC State Wolfpack.

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Georgia Tech

Syracuse at Georgia Tech

1 2 3 4 Total Orange 0 0 0 0 0 • Yellow Jackets 14 14 21 7 56 Date: October 19 Location: Bobby Dodd Stadium Atlanta, GA Game start: 12:30 PM EDT Elapsed time: 3:05 Game attendance: 45,704 Game weather: 65 °F (18 °C); Wind: SW 7 mph (11 km/h), Overcast Referee: J. Magallanes Television network: ACCN

Scoring summary {{{Time}}} {{{Team}}} {{{Event}}} {{{Score}}}

Previous meeting	Previous winner
2004	Georgia Tech, 51–14

Georgia Tech Leads Series: 2–0

See also: 2013 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team

Syracuse looked to avenge a 51–14 drubbing at the hands of Georgia Tech in their last meeting, which was the 2004 Champs Sports Bowl.

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Wake Forest

Wake Forest at Syracuse

1 2 3 4 Total Demon Deacons 0 0 0 0 0 • Orange 0 0 13 0 13 Date: November 2 Location: Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY Game start: 12:30 PM EDT Elapsed time: 3:33 Game attendance: 38,550 Referee: Walt Davenport Television network: ACCRSN

Scoring summary {{{Time}}} {{{Team}}} {{{Event}}} {{{Score}}}

Previous meeting	Previous winner
2011	Syracuse, 36–29 OT

Series Tied: 1–1

See also: 2013 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team

The last meeting between the two schools occurred in the 2011 season, with the Orange winning in a thrilling overtime affair.

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Maryland

Syracuse at Maryland

1 2 3 4 Total • Orange 7 3 3 7 20 Terrapins 0 0 3 0 3 Date: November 9 Location: Byrd Stadium College Park, MD Game start: 3:30 PM EST Elapsed time: 3:10 Game attendance: 37,213 Game weather: 57 °F (14 °C); Wind: SSW 11 mph (18 km/h), Clear Referee: Brad Allen Television network: ACCRSN

Scoring summary {{{Time}}} {{{Team}}} {{{Event}}} {{{Score}}}

Previous meeting	Previous winner
1994	Syracuse, 21–16

Syracuse Leads Series: 18–14–2

See also: 2013 Maryland Terrapins football team

This was the only conference matchup between these two teams, as the Terrapins will be joining the Big Ten Conference for the 2014 season.

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Florida State

Syracuse at Florida State

1 2 3 4 Total Orange 0 0 0 3 3 • Seminoles 28 10 21 0 59 Date: November 16 Location: Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL Game start: 3:30 PM EST Elapsed time: 3:11 Game attendance: 74,491 Game weather: 74 °F (23 °C); Wind: SSE 5 mph (8.0 km/h), Mostly cloudy Referee: Jeff Flanigan Television network: ABC/ESPN2

Scoring summary {{{Time}}} {{{Team}}} {{{Event}}} {{{Score}}}

Previous meeting	Previous winner
2005	Florida State, 38–14

Florida State Leads Series: 5–1

See also: 2013 Florida State Seminoles football team

The Orange made their last road trip of the season to take on the Florida State Seminoles. This was their first game as conference opponents.

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Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh at Syracuse

1 2 3 4 Total • Panthers 0 10 7 0 17 Orange 6 3 7 0 16 Date: November 23 Location: Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY Game start: 12:30 PM EST Elapsed time: 3:28 Game attendance: 35,317 Referee: Brad Allen Television network: ACCN

Scoring summary {{{Time}}} {{{Team}}} {{{Event}}} {{{Score}}}

Previous meeting	Previous winner
2012	Syracuse, 14–13

Pittsburgh Leads Series: 34–31–3

See also: 2013 Pittsburgh Panthers football team and Pittsburgh–Syracuse football rivalry

The Orange hosted familiar rival Pittsburgh in their first meeting as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. This matchup was designated as a protected inter-division crossover game that will be played annually.

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Boston College

Boston College at Syracuse (rivalry)

1 2 3 4 Total Eagles 7 7 7 10 31 • Orange 0 21 3 10 34 Date: November 30 Location: Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY Game start: 3:30 PM EST Elapsed time: 3:35 Game attendance: 37,406 Referee: David Epperley Television network: ACCRSN

Scoring summary {{{Time}}} {{{Team}}} {{{Event}}} {{{Score}}}

Previous meeting	Previous winner
2010	Boston College, 16–7

Syracuse Leads Series: 28–18

See also: 2013 Boston College Eagles football team and Boston College–Syracuse rivalry

Formerly Big East Conference rivals, Syracuse and Boston College played their first game as conference opponents to close out the regular season. The 2013 edition was a must-win for the Orange in order to be bowl-eligible.

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