1997 Syracuse football rewind: Orange close out regular season with win over Miami

After starting the season 1-3 it did not look like the #16 Syracuse Orange football squad would be headed towards a big-time bowl game.

Somehow the Orange escaped against Tulane and that fueled an eight-game winning streak to close out the season. The Big East title and an Alliance Bowl berth was secured with a 33-13 road win over the Miami Hurricanes. Syracuse will wait to find out which bowl game they are headed to, but for tonight it was all about ending a losing streak against Miami.

Donovan McNabb found Jim Turner for two 1st-quarter touchdowns (4 and 49 yards) and the Orange had a lead they would not relinquish. Miami cut it in half in the 2nd quarter when Reggie Wayne caught a 2-yard pass from Ryan Clement. The Orange extended it back to two scores when Tebucky Jones plunged in from a yard out and despite a missed PAT it was 20-7 at the half.

A 48-yard field goal from Nate Trout and McNabb’s 43 yard touchdown jaunt made it 30-7 after the 3rd quarter and Syracuse cruised home with the road win. McNabb was only 6-18 passing but he was one of three Orange players to rush for 100 yards (Kyle McIntosh and Dee Brown were the others). The Syracuse defense held Miami’s quarterbacks to 13-33 passing and the players completed an amazing turnaround from September when the season looked bleak.