Inside the Loud House
Fansided

Syracuse football: Non-conference opponents the Orange should schedule

By Paul A. Esden Jr.

SYRACUSE, NY - OCTOBER 21: Jerome Smith #45 of the Syracuse Orange pushes against West Virginia Mountaineers players Keith Tandy #8, Eain Smith #24 and Terence Garvin #28 during the game on October 21, 2011 at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York. (Photo by Nate Shron/Getty Images)
SYRACUSE, NY - OCTOBER 21: Jerome Smith #45 of the Syracuse Orange pushes against West Virginia Mountaineers players Keith Tandy #8, Eain Smith #24 and Terence Garvin #28 during the game on October 21, 2011 at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York. (Photo by Nate Shron/Getty Images) /
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5. West Virginia

The first non-conference game that we would schedule is one of the oldest rivalries in program history. The Orange and the Mountaineers have faced off 61 times in history, third-most in Syracuse football history.

Their first meeting was back in the World War II days (October 12, 1945) and their latest matchup was in the Camping World Bowl (December 28, 2018).

Historically the winner of this matchup would be awarded the Ben Schwartzwalder Trophy. Schwartzwaler played at West Virginia and had a legendary coaching career with the Orange. That hardware was first introduced in 1993 and helped create an amazing rivalry.

Sadly both teams went their separate ways when they joined new conferences WVU (Big 12), SU (ACC). They’ve played sparingly since and that’s a damn shame, it’s time to schedule this game more frequently and re-create an age-old rivalry!

4. Middle Tennessee State

From one of the greatest rivalries in Syracuse history to whatever this is *shoulder shrug*. These two squads have only played once, but this one feels personal.

Syracuse and Middle Tennesse State met up in the loud house on September 9, 2017. The Orange paid the Blue Raiders $1 million to travel up to the dome to compete. On the surface, these two teams had zero history, but the trending storyline heading into this one was former Syracuse football head coach Scott Shafer on the other sideline coaching up the MTSU defense.

Shafer got fired after three uneventful seasons and was replaced by the exciting offensive-minded Dino Babers. It was Dino’s high octane offense vs the old school Shafer defense and guess what happened? MTSU got the upset winning 30-23.

It was an embarrassing loss on multiple levels and there’s nothing better than scheduling a revenge game. Dino needs to even the score and prove that offense truly wins championships, not defense.

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