One chain link is all it took for the Syracuse football team’s head coach to breathe a little easier and to smile a little wider. By defeating Pittsburgh on Saturday in double overtime, Paul Pasqualoni silenced the doubters, prognosticators and skeptics – or at least put them on hold for another week.

If the Orange had lost Saturday, it would have been devastating for a Senior Day send-off. It would have dampened some bowl hopes and it would have given some of the naysayers more fodder for their anti-P rhetoric. But Syracuse pulled it out, and the Orange players feel like they offered more breathing room for their embattled ball coach.

‘Here you go,’ said captain Matt Tarullo, offering some indirect thanks to Pasqualoni. ‘You got it. It’s a great feeling. He’s a great coach. He puts everything on the line for us.’

With the stop, Syracuse moved to within one win of being bowl eligible for the first time since 2001.

After the game, Pasqualoni was all smiles. He sipped on his customary Capri-Sun, grinning a devilish beam. When asked if he ever considered Saturday’s game as his last in the Carrier Dome, he replied in earnest.

‘I don’t get emotional,’ Pasqualoni said, downplaying the thought.

‘If we had lost, without a doubt, he’d be in a tough spot,’ SU punter Brendan Carney said. ‘But he’s an unbelievable guy. He works harder than anyone I’ve ever met in my life. I’m glad we pulled it off for him so he doesn’t have to go through that. I hope we can get the next two and he’ll never have to go through it.’

In the fickle world of college football, the talk has moved from Pasqualoni’s job status to SU’s bowl chances. The Pitt-Syracuse game was billed as a match between two coaches on the hot seat (Pasqualoni and Walt Harris). Four days after, it’s just known as a double-overtime thriller.

The Syracuse fan base, normally a breeding ground for anti-Coach P speak, is now loaded with promise and optimism, thanks to SU’s 5-4 record and, more important, 3-1 record in the Big East.

‘I think it’s a week-to-week thing,’ receiver Andre Fontenette said. ‘The more Ws we get, it’s positive for him. Hopefully, we get another win this weekend and keep it going. The guy works so hard, there’s no reason for (Pasqualoni to lose his job), but it’s not really my decision.’

Syracuse has won two games in a row and travels to 1-8 Temple on Saturday. While the Orange players know they can’t overlook the conference-worst Owls, they understand the importance of finishing the season strong heading into bowl games. And though few are willing to admit it, some said they have their sights on taking the No. 2 spot in the conference and qualifying for the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla., or the Insight Bowl in Phoenix. If that happens, SU players are confident their coach will keep his job, silencing all the doubters.

‘There’s no reason why we shouldn’t win out in these games anyway,’ Fontenette said.

Published on November 9, 2004 at 12:00 pm