The 2012 Syracuse Orange football team represented Syracuse University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Orange were led by fourth year head coach Doug Marrone and played their home games at the Carrier Dome. The season marked their last as members of the Big East Conference, as they joined the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2013. They finished the season 8–5, 5–2 in Big East play to claim a four-way share of the Big East Conference championship. They were invited to the Pinstripe Bowl where they defeated long-time rival West Virginia, whom they did not play in the regular season due to the Mountaineers' move to the Big 12 Conference. The 2012 season also proved to be the final one for Marrone as the Orange head coach, as he was hired as the new head coach of the NFL's Buffalo Bills shortly after the end of the season.
Preseason The Orange finished the 2011 season with a 5–7 record, going 1–6 in Big East play to finish in a tie for seventh place. The 2012 recruiting class added 21 new players to the roster, including 13 three-star players. Rivals.com ranked the 2012 Syracuse recruiting class at number 65 in the nation.
On offense, the Orange are returning senior quarterback Ryan Nassib, starting for his third consecutive season. Key offensive players such as Alec Lemon, Marcus Sales, Jerome Smith, and Prince-Tyson Gulley are also returning. On defense, key players returning include Shamarko Thomas, Marquis Spruill, and Deon Goggins. The program lost a number of significant contributors in the 2011 campaign, including tight end Nick Provo and defensive end Chandler Jones, and such losses left a number of questions regarding how a relatively young defense would be able to mature without many experienced players.
In its preseason rankings, College Football News ranked the Orange 57th in the country, and projected that they would go 6–6 in 2012. Their 2012 schedule is the 42nd-toughest in the nation, according to rankings compiled by statistician Jeff Sagarin.
Big East media poll The 2012 Big East Preseason Poll was announced at the Big East Media Day in Newport, RI on July 31, 2012. Syracuse was chosen to finish seventh in the conference.
Louisville – 219 (24) South Florida – 176 (4) Rutgers – 155 Cincinnati – 139 Pittsburgh – 131 Connecticut – 77 Syracuse – 70 Temple – 41
Personnel
Coaching staff 2012 Coaching staffHead coach Doug Marrone
Offensive coaches Greg Adkins – Offensive line/recruiting coordinator Nathaniel Hackett – Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks/tight ends Rob Moore – Wide receivers Tyrone Wheatley – Running backs Defensive coaches John anselmo – Assistant head coach/linebackers Tim daoust – Defensive line Donnie Henderson – Defensive backs Steve Morrison – Linebackers Jason Rebrovich – Defensive quality control coach Scott Shafer – Defensive coordinator Support staff Bob Brotzki – Assistant athletics director for player development William hicks – Assistant athletics director for athletic performance Hal luther – Director of strength and conditioning Kevin van derzee – Director of football operations
Roster 2012 Syracuse Orange FootballQuarterback 10 Terrel Hunt – sophomore 12 Ryan Nassib – senior 14 John Kinder – junior 17 Charley Loeb – senior
Running back 1 Ashton Broyld – freshman 20 Mitchell Piasecki – sophomore (FB) 20 Greg Tobias – junior 23 Prince-Tyson Gulley – junior 26 Myles Davis – freshman (FB) 27 George Morris III – freshman 29 Devante McFarlane – freshman 30 Steve Rene – junior 31 Clay Cleveland – junior (FB) 32 Travon Burke – sophomore 34 Adonis Ameen-Moore – sophomore 45 Jerome Smith – junior
Offensive lineman 55 Rob Trudo – OG – sophomore 57 Omari Palmer – OG – freshman 59 Mackey MacPherson – C – junior 60 Sean Hickey – OT – junior 62 Andrew Phillips – OT – senior 64 Daniel Anyaegbunam – OT – junior 67 Justin Pugh – OT – senior 68 Nick Robinson – OT – sophomore 70 Jesse Wolf-Gould – OG – sophomore 72 Ivan Foy – OG – sophomore 74 Seamus Shanley – C – freshman 75 Zack Chibane – OG – senior 76 Kyle Knapp – OT – freshman 77 Lou Alexander – OT – senior 78 Jason Emerich – C – freshman
Wide receiver 2 Quinta Funderburk – sophomore 5 Marcus Sales – senior 15 Alec Lemon – senior 16 Keenan Hale – sophomore 22 Adrian Flemming – junior 25 Jeremiah Kobena – sophomore 36 Christopher Clark – junior 82 Alvin Cornelius – freshman 84 Ben Lewish – freshman 87 Kyle Foster – sophomore 88 Jarrod West – junior 97 Macauley Hill – sophomore
Tight end 42 Jacob Green – freshman 48 Carl Cutler – senior 80 Ron Thompson – freshman 81 Louie Addazio – sophomore 83 Max Beaulieu – junior 85 Beckett Wales – junior 86 David Stevens – senior 89 Josh Parris – freshman
Defensive tackle 13 Deon Goggins – senior 53 Lucas Albrecht – sophomore 63 Ryan Sloan – sophomore 92 Davon Walls – junior 96 Jay Bromley – junior 99 Zian Jones – junior
Defensive end 10 Markus Pierce-Brewster – junior 51 Donnie Simmons – sophomore 91 Brandon Sharpe – senior 93 Micah Robinson – junior 94 Robert Welsh – junior 95 Josh Manley – freshman 97 John Raymon – freshman
Linebacker 7 Oliver Vigille – sophomore 11 Marquis Spruill – junior 18 Siriki Diabate – senior 33 Dan Vaughan – senior 35 Dyshawn Davis – sophomore 38 Cameron Lynch – sophomore 39 Don Anene – senior 40 Zachary McCarrell – junior 41 Lewellyn Coker – junior 50 Femi Aliyu – junior 90 James Washington – freshman Cornerback 2 Wayne Morgan – freshman 4 Brandon Reddish – sophomore 8 Keon Lyn – junior 9 Ri'Shard Anderson – senior 19 Joe Nassib – junior 20 Julian Whigham – freshman 24 Jatson George – sophomore 43 Franklin Santos – sophomore
Safety 3 Durell Eskridge – sophomore 6 Ritchy Desir – sophomore 12 Dontez Ford – freshman 16 James Jarrett – senior 21 Shamarko Thomas – senior 28 Jeremi Wilkes – junior
Long snapper 47 Sam Rodgers – sophomore 61 Eric Morris – senior
Punter 46 Jonathan Fisher – sophomore 92 Riley Dixon – sophomore
Kicker 19 Ryan Lichtenstein – senior 37 Ross Krautman – junior 49 Ryan Norton – freshman
Schedule
Game summaries
Northwestern
Northwestern defeated Syracuse in the Orange's home opener by a score of 42–41. Syracuse quarterback Ryan Nassib threw for 482 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. Wide receiver Marcus Sales caught twelve passes for 129 yards and one touchdown. After trailing 35–13 halfway through the 3rd quarter, the Orange stormed back to take a 41–35 lead with less than three minutes left in the game. The defense would not hold, however, as Northwestern scored the go-ahead touchdown with 44 seconds remaining.
1st quarter scoring: SYR: Ross Krautman 22 Yd FG; SYR: Ross Krautman 33 Yd FG; NU: Mark Venric 82 Yd Punt Return
2nd quarter scoring: SYR: Prince-Tyson Gulley 14 Yd Run (Ross Krautman Kick); NU: Mark Venric 21 Yd Pass From Kain Colter (Jeff Budzien Kick); NU: Christian Jones 14 Yd Pass From Kain Colter (Jeff Budzien Kick)
3rd quarter scoring: NU: Chi Chi Ariguzo 33 Yd Fumble Recovery (Jeff Budzien Kick); NU: Kain Colter 1 Yd Run (Jeff Budzien Kick); SYR: Marcus Sales 7 Yd Pass From Ryan Nassib (Ross Krautman Kick); SYR: Jeremiah Kobena 50 Yd Pass From Ryan Nassib (Ross Krautman Kick)
4th quarter scoring: SYR: Jeremiah Kobena 7 Yd Pass From Ryan Nassib (Ross Krautman Kick); SYR: Christopher Clark 20 Yd Pass From Ryan Nassib (Prince-Tyson Gulley Two-Point Run Conversion); NU: Demitrius Fields 9 Yd Pass From Trevor Siemian (Jeff Budzien Kick)
USC
This game was played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Ryan Nassib threw for 322 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Marcus Sales caught eight passes for 104 yards and two touchdowns. The Orange looked poised to upset the Trojans, trailing by only five points at the end of the third quarter. A dominating 4th quarter performance by USC quarterback Matt Barkley proved to be too much, however, as the Trojans dealt Syracuse their second loss with a final score of 42–29.
1st quarter scoring: None
2nd quarter scoring: USC: Marqise Lee 13 Yd Pass From Matt Barkley (Alex Wood Kick); USC – Robert Woods 29 Yd Pass From Matt Barkley (Alex Wood Kick); SYR – Ross Krautman 37 Yd FG
3rd quarter scoring: USC – Robert Woods 4 Yd Pass From Matt Barkley (Alex Wood Kick); SYR – Marcus Sales 3 Yd Pass From Ryan Nassib (Ross Krautman Kick); SYR – Prince-Tyson Gulley 8 Yd Run (Two-Point Conversion Failed)
4th quarter scoring: USC: Xavier Grimble 22 Yd Pass From Matt Barkley (Alex Wood Kick); USC – Marqise Lee 4 Yd Pass From Matt Barkley (Alex Wood Kick); SYR – Marcus Sales 17 Yd Pass From Ryan Nassib (Two-Point Conversion Failed); USC – Marqise Lee 3 Yd Pass From Matt Barkley (Alex Wood Kick); SYR – Ryan Nassib 1 Yd Run (Ross Krautman Kick)
Stony Brook
The Orange returned to the Carrier Dome to take on FCS Stony Brook. After trailing by three at the half, the Orange defense held the Seawolves to a scoreless second half, and the offense did the rest at Syracuse won its first game, 28–17. Ryan Nassib threw for 335 yards with three touchdowns.
1st quarter scoring: SB: Kevin Norrell 63 Yd Pass From Kyle Essington (Wesley Skiffington Kick); SYR: Prince-Tyson Gulley 61 Yd Pass From Ryan Nassib (Ross Krautman Kick); SB: Wesley Skiffington 20 Yd FG
2nd quarter scoring: SYR: Ashton Broyld 22 Yd Run (Ross Krautman Kick); SB: Miguel Maysonet 71 Yd Run (Wesley Skiffington Kick)
3rd quarter scoring: SYR: Jarrod West 13 Yd Pass From Ryan Nassib (Ross Krautman Kick)
4th quarter scoring: SYR: Marcus Sales 19 Yd Pass From Ryan Nassib (Ross Krautman Kick)
Minnesota
The Orange traveled to Minnesota and were stifled by the Golden Gopher defense. Ryan Nassib threw for 228 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions. This loss gave Syracuse a 1–3 overall record for the season.
1st quarter scoring: MIN: Donnell Kirkwood 2 Yd Run (Jordan Wettstein Kick); SYR: Ross Krautman 33 Yd FG
2nd quarter scoring: None
3rd quarter scoring: MIN: Donnell Kirkwood 1 Yd Run (Jordan Wettstein Kick)
4th quarter scoring: MIN: Jordan Wettstein 43 Yd FG; SYR: Marcus Sales 14 Yd Pass From Ryan Nassib (Ross Krautman Kick)
Pittsburgh
Big East Conference play began as Pittsburgh came to the Carrier Dome. After scoring fourteen points in the first quarter, the Orange were held scoreless by the Pitt defense. Despite scoring only twice, Syracuse held on to edge the Panthers by a score of 14–13. This victory snapped an eight-game FBS losing streak, and was the Orange's first win over Pitt since a double-overtime affair in 2004.
1st quarter scoring: SYR: Adonis Ameen-Moore 1 Yd Run (Ross Krautman Kick); SYR: Dyshawn Davis 52 Yd Fumble Return (Ross Krautman Kick)
2nd quarter scoring: PIT: Ray Graham 1 Yd Run (Kevin Harper Kick); PIT: Kevin Harper 40 Yd FG
3rd quarter scoring: PIT: Kevin Harper 27 Yd FG
4th quarter scoring: None
Rutgers
Despite putting up 438 total yards, turnovers proved costly as Rutgers beat Syracuse for the second year in a row by a score of 23–15. Ryan Nassib threw for 356 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
1st quarter scoring: RUT: Jawan Jamison 1 Yd Run (Nick Borgese Kick)
2nd quarter scoring: SYR: Adonis Ameen-Moore 3 Yd Run (Ross Krautman Kick)
3rd quarter scoring: RUT: Duron Harmon 75 Yd Return Of Blocked Field Goal (Nick Borgese Kick); RUT: Nick Borgese 25 Yd FG
4th quarter scoring: SYR: Christopher Clark 40 Yd Pass From Ryan Nassib (Ryan Nassib Pass To Marcus Sales For Two-Point Conversion)
Connecticut
The Connecticut Huskies took on the Orange in former Syracuse head coach Paul Pasqualoni's first return to the Carrier Dome since he was fired at the end of 2004 season. The Orange blew out the Huskies by a score of 40–10 behind Ryan Nassib's 251 passing yards and running back Jerome Smith's 133 yards on the ground.
1st quarter scoring: SYR: Ross Krautman 22 Yd FG; SYR: Ross Krautman 33 Yd FG; CON: Chad Christen 23 Yd FG