At least, that's what DOC Gross says, according to Brent Axe who spoke with the good DOCTOR yesterday.
Gross says that the Orange were approached early in the process and even had the opportunity to move things around and get a game in there this season.
Other scheduling issues were present, but the prospect of losing a home game in the early part of Doug Marrone's tenure as head coach was not something Gross wanted to do, as to give Coach Marrone the best start possible in his first season, and the home game that a potential opponent wouldn't give up as well. He added Syracuse would have considered the possibility harder if they were going to get the opponent to host the game the following year.
It's a little confusing, I must admit. Syracuse was given the option to play Army at Yankee Stadium, but only if it was this season? The season that's only a couple months away? Was 2013 or 2014 not an option at all? I can get why we didn't do it if 2009 was the only option but why would it have been? Not calling Gross a liar, just saying it sounds...strange.
Personally, it doesn't bother me too much. I just expected SU to fight harder than that for an opportunity like this. Given that Marrone is from the Bronx and a die-hard Yankee fan, Syracuse is "New York's College Team" and SU is currently gobbling up Bronx recruits like Skittles, it just seems like too much of a no-brainer for this not to happen sooner than later.
Gross goes on to say there's still a good chance the Orange will play at Yankee Stadium. Since Army has games scheduled there in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014, the earliest opportunity would be 2013.
Axe also touched on that phantom SU-Notre Dame series that has been floating out in the ether for the last few months and got some good intel:
I asked Gross about a previously discussed series between Syracuse and Notre Dame at the new Giants Stadium in the near future and what the status of that was. Gross confirmed that scenario was still significantly in play and that an announcement on that would be made in the near future.
Brent says he also hears that USC is in the mix for the Meadowlands games, which could end up being a huge bummer for Orange fans. It's one thing to give up a home game against Army or even Notre Dame, whom we've gotten accustom to playing. If the SU-USC return match set for 2012 ends up getting moved from the Carrier Dome, that's a huge loss for Syracuse-area fans who were looking forward to seeing the Trojans in the Dome for what would surely be a packed Loud House.