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11
Syracuse
With their explosive backfield, the Orangemen remain the
class of the Big East. Alas, another cruel September
awaits
| |
McNabb is triggerman for one of the nation's best option
attacks.
(Heinz
Kluetmeier)
| On
his
way
to work on
a
cold morning in December 1996,
Syracuse coach Paul
Pasqualoni stopped at a coffee shop to pick up a bagel and
a warm cup of
joe. While waiting for his order, Pasqualoni exchanged
pleasantries with a female customer. When he left, the
woman quietly followed him out the door and trailed him in
her car to the parking lot outside the coach's office.
There—The
Rules be damned—she asked the lifelong bachelor out to a
movie. Thirteen months and many movies later, in a small
ceremony on Valentine's Day, 1998,
Jill
Fleischman became Mrs. Paul
Pasqualoni.
That event was the hot topic of conversation in the
Orangemen's weight room during the off-season. "We've
talked about a wedding gift for a long time, but we haven't
given Coach one yet," says senior quarterback Donovan
McNabb. "We've decided that the
best thing we can do is have a winning season. Maybe even an
undefeated season." A nice thought, but given
Syracuse's murderous early schedule, together with a very
green defense, well, dinnerware seems a more realistic
gift.
Not only must the Orangemen replace seven defensive
starters, including four All-Big East picks, but they also
have a new defensive coordinator, George DeLeone, who spent
the last 14 years coaching
offenses in college and the NFL. Though this might not seem the
standard recipe for success, Pasqualoni is not overly
concerned. "He's done it before," says the
Orangemen's coach, referring to DeLeone's stint as
Rutgers's defensive coordinator from 1980 through
'83. "With his experience in football he's well
equipped to do the job for
us."
How Syracuse handles the daunting early slate will be
another key. In each of the last two seasons, the Orangemen
were out of national title contention by late September.
This year they open at home against Tennessee, which
finished last season at
No. 7, then go on the road the following week to play Michigan,
the defending national champion. Though it's admirable that
Syracuse
doesn't fill its nonconference schedule with cream puffs,
the only way the Orangemen will be playing for anything
more than a
Big East crown is if they light up the
scoreboard.
That is possible. Syracuse retains most of its key starters
from an offense that set school records in 1997 for yards
and points. The attack will be even more potent this season
thanks to the return of fullback Rob Konrad, who missed the
final three
games of last year with a torn tendon in his left
knee. With
Konrad (6.6 yards per carry in '97), tailback Kyle
McIntosh (5.0 yards per carry over the last three years)
and
McNabb, the
Orangemen have one of the most talented backfields in the
country.
The last we saw of McNabb, he was completing just 16 of 39
passes in Syracuse's 35-18 loss to Kansas State in the
Fiesta Bowl. Determined to avoid a repeat of that
performance,
McNabb—who was a backup guard on the Orangemen's
basketball team for two
years—focused exclusively on football this off-season.
Recently he has been rivaling Pasqualoni, who routinely
logs 16-hour days, in the film room. Still, the two-time
Big East offensive player of the year needs to play like
the Heisman Trophy candidate
many believe he is if Syracuse is going to avoid the
disappointments of the last two autumns. Can he lead his
team to a national title? "It's not out of the
question," says McNabb. "Stranger things have
happened."
And at Syracuse lately, they've come to expect the
unexpected. Just ask Mrs. Paul
Pasqualoni. —Lars
Anderson
Fast Facts
1997 record: 9-4 (6-1, 1st in Big
East)
Final ranking: No. 21 AP, No. 20 coaches'
poll
| 1997 Averages | Offense | Defense |
| Scoring | 35.3 | 15.9 |
| Rushing Yards | 201.4 | 109.8 |
| Passing Yards | 225.8 | 180.4 |
| Total Yards | 427.3 | 290.2 |
|
Pivotal Players
Throwing to wideouts
Kevin Johnson
and
Quinton Spotwood
(a combined 73 catches last year),
Donovan McNabb
should continue to improve his passing numbers (2,488
yards, 20 TDs in
'97)....
Johnson
(two kickoff returns for TDs in '97) and Spotwood (four TD
punt
returns) are the nation's top return
tandem....
Sophomore linebacker
Morlon Greenwood
(64 tackles last year) looks like a big-time
player.
Key Games
Schedule strength: 28th of
112
Sept. 5 vs. Tennessee
With Michigan looming the following week, the Orangemen
must win this tough game to avoid an 0-2
start.
Nov. 28 vs. Miami
The Big East title and a major bowl bid could be on the
line against the Hurricanes, who are 3-0 at the Carrier
Dome.
Nov. 21 at Notre Dame
A tough nonconference matchup, with a game at Arkansas
still to
come.
Bottom Line
Too many defensive uncertainties—and two tough games
atop the schedule—make a serious run for the national
title
unlikely.
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