clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

I Witnessed The Worst

If you buy something from an SB Nation link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

If you never attended a football game at the old Orange Bowl, you really missed out on one of sport's great traditions. The parking of your car on the front lawn of a dilapidated shack around the corner from the stadium with the expectation that the homeowner, Shady McShadystein, would keep your car and it's valuables safe from the neer-do-wells lurking about.

I had just such a lucky experience when I attended the 1999 Orange Bowl between Syracuse and Florida. We parked our car on a strangers lawn and hoped for the best. We made our way through the maze of Florida fan RVs to find the Syracuse courtesy tent. We sat outside before the game and enjoyed the monumental Arizona Cardinals playoff victory over the Dallas Cowboys, a fantastic omen of underdogs overcoming the odds on a day when Syracuse was a double-digit 'dog. I made my way through the crowd of drunk rednecks, shouting things like "What'n the hell is an Orangeman, anyway?" as I past. And finally, I saw in awe of the football clinic that Florida put on Syracuse that night, beating them 31-10 in a game that wasn't even THAT close.


All allegiances aside, it was a pretty piss-poor game. SU didn't even show up and the outcome was never really in doubt. I'd say it was probably one of the least memorable BCS games ever played.
But I would be wrong. It's actually the WORST BCS game ever played.

CBSSports.com's Dennis Dodd went through all 42 BCS games played and ranked them. The best BCS game played? Boise State's Statue of Liberty game over Oklahoma. A close 2nd has to be the Texas-USC National Championship of 2005. But scroll down...allllll the way to the end and you'll find your beloved Orange, a victim not only of their horrible performance but also of the effects the current state of the program has on recent history.


42.
Florida 31, Syracuse 10 -- 1999 Orange Bowl ... Wait, you mean Syracuse played in a BCS bowl?


If Syracuse is a good program today, is this still considered the worst BCS game of all time? Something tells me the Utah-Pittsburgh Fiesta Bowl might just have been on the bottom...at least the SU-Florida game wasn't over within the first three minutes...it took at least seven for the Gators to finish us off. However I think the success the Orange had in the late 90's is going to be marred in the eyes of others by the current state of the program. "Isn't that cute...Syracuse won 8 games in 1999. Can you imagine?" Ugh, stab me in the genitals.

No wait...cancel that.