The stat sticks out like the point of a sharp knife. At first glance, it might even seem impossible.

But as ridiculous as it may sound, the Syracuse football team hasn’t won a Big East road game in more than three seasons. The streak spans back to an Oct. 27, 2001, 22-14 victory at Virginia Tech.

Since then, the Orange is 0-10 against Big East opponents on the road. That streak includes two losses to Temple and one to Rutgers – two teams that typically pad the bottom of the league standings. But no matter the playing level of the opponent, Syracuse has been equally bad. The three-year road losing streak, as much as anything else, may explain the Orange’s mediocrity the past three seasons.

The latest road disaster came in Saturday’s 34-24 defeat to Temple. The loss may have cost Syracuse a bowl game and head coach Paul Pasqualoni his job. SU has one final shot at a road win on Nov. 27 at Boston College.

‘A game is a game,’ wide receiver Jared Jones said. ‘Unfortunately, we get away from the (Carrier) Dome, the turf and the fans and we have a tendency to let down. It’s a shame.’And it seems as if it’s a problem that no one has an answer to. Pasqualoni has repeatedly pointed out most teams struggle on the road. This season, home teams are 10-4 in Big East games. But other than Temple – which has won just 13 games in its Big East history – no team has struggled as mightily as Syracuse.

Outside of the Big East, it’s been just as bad for the Orange. Overall, SU is 3-14 on the road in that same span since Syracuse beat Virginia Tech. And Syracuse hasn’t exactly been winning games in daunting environments.

Syracuse has one road win each of the last three seasons. The wins have come at Central Florida, North Carolina and Buffalo. Pasqualoni pointed out that SU has also visited, and lost, in some difficult environments. This season, Syracuse lost at Purdue, Virginia and West Virginia. In 2002, it lost at Brigham Young, Auburn and West Virginia.

Those are some of the most daunting stadiums in college football. But don’t forget the two road losses to Temple. Saturday’s game drew only 15,564 fans. For parts of the game, SU fans made more noise than Temple fans.

‘You’ve got to really execute on the road,’ Pasqualoni said. ‘You can’t shoot yourself in the foot. What we did (Saturday) is exactly what you have to avoid.’

The Orange did make several mistakes against the Owls. Three turnovers and a roughing-the-kicker penalty may have cost it the game. In the previous road loss to WVU on Oct. 21, sloppy play, particularly on special teams, also cost Syracuse.

Sloppy play and turnovers are always to blame for a defeat. The question is, why is Syracuse so affected by these problems on the road? And that question no one seems to be able to, or want to, answer.

Certainly, Syracuse has a great advantage playing at home. Most teams struggle adjusting to the turf and the Dome. Few teams in college football play on turf fields; even fewer play indoors.

But it seems when Syracuse leaves its home field, it can’t adjust to conditions on the road. Running back Walter Reyes has repeatedly said how he loves coming home and running on the turf. He has struggled on grass this season, rushing for 31, 59 and 83 yards in three road games.

This season, all four of his 100-yard rushing games came at home. Last year, three of his four 100-yard games came at the Dome.

‘A lot of teams don’t like going up to the Dome,’ Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said. ‘I don’t know if it’s the noise or the turf.’

But winning at home isn’t where a team separates itself from the rest of the pack. It’s the road wins that propel teams to bowl games. Just one conference road win last year would have likely earned Syracuse a bowl invitation.

And to even become bowl eligible this season, SU will need to cure its road woes in the next two weeks. Boston College does play on a turf surface, but its Field Turf is unlike that of the Dome. If the Orange can’t pull off the win, it will have to wait until next year to try to pick up its first league road victory in four years.

‘We can’t look at that (SU’s road problems),’ kicker Collin Barber said. ‘We have to refocus for BC. It’s still a big game.’

Published on November 15, 2004 at 12:00 pm