The 2013 Syracuse Orange football team represented

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

in the

2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on August 29, 2013 and ended on Dece ...

. The Orange were led by first year head coach

Scott Shafer Scott Shafer (born January 6, 1967) is an American football coach and former player. He currently serves as the defensive coordinator for the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders. He previously served as the head coach at Syracuse University unti ...

and played their home games at the

Carrier Dome The JMA Wireless Dome, originally the Carrier Dome (1980–2022) and colloquially called "The Dome," or more recently "The JMA Dome," is a domed sports stadium in Syracuse, New York. Located on the campus of Syracuse University in the University ...

. The season marked their first as members of the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

, after their final season in the Big East Conference in 2012. They finished the season 7–6, 4–4 in ACC play to finish in a tie for third place in the Atlantic Division. They were invited to the Texas Bowl where they defeated Minnesota.

Previous season

The Orange's 2012 season was their last as members of the Big East Conference. They finished the year with an 8–5 record, and finished as conference co-champions, with a 5–2 record in Big East play. The Orange capped off their season with a win in the 2012 New Era Pinstripe Bowl over long-time rival West Virginia.

Preseason

After the conclusion of the season, head coach

Doug Marrone Douglas Charles Marrone (born July 25, 1964) is an American football coach and former offensive lineman who is the offensive line coach for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He came to prominence as the head coach at ...

was mentioned by several sportswriters as a possible candidate for a head coaching job in the National Football League. On January 6, 2013, Marrone was introduced as the head coach of the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

. Offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett departed for Buffalo as well, leaving a number of coaching positions open. On January 9, Syracuse announced the promotion of defensive coordinator

to head coach. Shortly thereafter, George McDonald was announced as the new offensive coordinator, and

Chuck Bullough Chuck Bullough (born March 3, 1968) is an American football coach and is currently a senior defensive analyst at LSU. He was previously the Defensive Ends Coach at Michigan State University. He formerly coached at Eastern Michigan. He is also a fo ...

was announced as the new defensive coordinator.

Personnel

Coaching staff

Schedule

Game summaries

Penn State

Penn State Leads Series: 43–23–5 The Orange opened their season by traveling to MetLife Stadium in

East Rutherford, NJ East Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 10,022, reflecting an increase of 1,109 (+12.4%) from the 8,913 counted in the 2010 census.

to renew their rivalry with the Penn State Nittany Lions. This was the 71st all-time meeting between the two schools. Neither offense could get much going in the first half, and the score stood 6–3 in favor of Penn State at the break. The second half proved to be better for the Lions, as quarterback Christian Hackenberg lead the team to a 23–10 lead early in the 4th quarter. A Jerome Smith touchdown late in the game cut the deficit to 23–17, but the potential Orange comeback fell short when quarterback Drew Allen threw his second interception of the game late in the 4th. ----

Northwestern

Series Tied: 5–5 For the second consecutive season, the Orange lost to the Northwestern Wildcats of the Big Ten Conference. ----

Wagner

Syracuse Leads Series: 1–0 The Orange hosted Wagner in their home opener at the

in the first ever meeting between the two universities. Syracuse's offense put on a dominating performance and rolled to a 54–0 win, their first of the season. ----

Tulane

Syracuse Leads Series: 7–1 Tulane visits the Carrier Dome for the first time since the

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season. This is the second meeting in three years between the two teams. ----

Clemson

Syracuse is Tied in Series: 1–1 The Orange's first conference game as members of the

was a matchup against the 3rd ranked Clemson Tigers. This was the second all-time meeting between Clemson and Syracuse, with the first ending in a 41–0 victory for the Orange in the 1996

Gator Bowl The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game held in Jacksonville, Florida, operated by Gator Bowl Sports. It has been held continuously since 1946, making it the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised natio ...

. Clemson evened the overall series with a 49–14 victory behind a career night by

Tajh Boyd Tajh Khiry Boyd (born September 25, 1990) is an American football coach and former quarterback who currently is an offensive assistant at Clemson. He was drafted by the New York Jets in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college fo ...

who went 20 for 27 for 455 yards and 5 touchdowns. ----

NC State

NC State Leads Series: 6–1 Syracuse traveled to

Raleigh, NC Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southea ...

for a game against the

NC State Wolfpack The NC State Wolfpack is the nickname of the athletic teams representing North Carolina State University. The Wolfpack competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I (Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for college footb ...

. ----

Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech Leads Series: 2–0 Syracuse looked to avenge a 51–14 drubbing at the hands of Georgia Tech in their last meeting, which was the

2004 Champs Sports Bowl The 2004 Champs Sports Bowl was the 15th edition of the college football bowl game and was played on December 21, 2004, featuring the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, and the Syracuse Orange. This was the first version of the bowl played under the Cha ...

. ----

Wake Forest

Series Tied: 1–1 The last meeting between the two schools occurred in the 2011 season, with the Orange winning in a thrilling overtime affair. ----

Maryland

Syracuse Leads Series: 18–14–2 This was the only conference matchup between these two teams, as the

Terrapins Terrapins are one of several small species of turtle (order Testudines) living in fresh or brackish water. Terrapins do not form a taxonomic unit and may not be closely related. Many belong to the families Geoemydidae and Emydidae. The name " ...

will be joining the Big Ten Conference for the 2014 season. ----

Florida State

Florida State Leads Series: 5–1 The Orange made their last road trip of the season to take on the

Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivis ...

. This was their first game as conference opponents. ----

Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh Leads Series: 34–31–3 The Orange hosted familiar rival Pittsburgh in their first meeting as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. This matchup was designated as a protected inter-division crossover game that will be played annually. ----

Boston College

Syracuse Leads Series: 28–18 Formerly Big East Conference rivals, Syracuse and Boston College played their first game as conference opponents to close out the regular season. The 2013 edition was a must-win for the Orange in order to be bowl-eligible. ----

References

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Syracuse Orange football seasons Texas Bowl champion seasons

Syracuse Orange football The Syracuse Orange football team represents Syracuse University in the sport of American football. The Orange compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Atlantic Division of the ...