College Football
Top 3 Syracuse Football Upset Wins in the Carrier Dome
Over the years, no matter how the team has been playing, the Syracuse Orange have managed to pull off some big upset wins in the Carrier Dome
Despite not being a consistent winning program, Syracuse football has still managed to pull out their share of upset wins in the Carrier Dome.
Recently Syracuse University announced plans for a $118 million renovation project in the next couple of years to touch up the Carrier Dome.
The venue has been host to Syracuse athletic events such as football, basketball, and lacrosse since 1980.
In the past nearly 40 years Syracuse football has had its share of big upsets while playing their home games within the concrete walls.
Before looking ahead to the future renovations or the upcoming season it would be proper to take a quick look back at a few of the biggest upset wins in the Carrier Dome.
-
2002 Syracuse 50 No. 8 Virginia Tech 42
The highest scoring game on the list.
This contest came near the end of a disappointing season 4-8 for the Orange after winning 10-games a year ago.
The team was however, riding a two-game winning streak going into the matchup against Frank Beamer and the Hokies.
Syracuse was able to ride that momentum to a victory over their opponents despite giving up 504 yards passing and facing a 14-3 deficit after the first quarter.
The game went into triple overtime and the winning points were scored by running back Damien Rhodes on a 25-yard touchdown run and following two-point conversion.
-
2017 Syracuse 27 No.2 Clemson 24
The most recent upset.
As with the previous one, this game was also the last win for the Orange during a 4-8 season.
This matchup also came a year after Dabo Swinney and the Tigers embarrass Syracuse in Death Valley by winning a whopping 54-0.
Syracuse, despite giving up a couple of big plays on defense was able to play an overall solid game of football.
Quarterback Eric Dungey put up a star performance by going 20-32 with 278 yards and 3 TDs through the air and adding another 61 yards on the ground.
Clemson went on to win the ACC Conference Championship and play in the College Football Playoffs.
-
Syracuse 17 No. 1 Nebraska 9
Coming in at the number one spot is a win against a number 1 team.
As was the case with the Clemson upset, Syracuse both forth a solid effort on both sides of the ball.
The defense led by tackle Tim Green kept the Cornhuskers from scoring after the first quarter.
The New York Times even referred to this game as Syracuse Football’s most meaningful accomplishment since their 1959 undefeated National Championship season.
This is only upset on this list in which Syracuse did not finish with a losing season as they went 6-5.
Nebraska went on to lose just one more game to No. 6 Oklahoma en-route to a 10-2 season.
As for the future, we can only hope for more success from Syracuse and of course some more upset wins in the Carrier Dome.
