John Berry / The Post-Standard

By Tim Schlittner

At long last, the opening week of college football is here. Thursday night action is just three short days away and a full weekend of games is set to follow. It doesn’t get much more exciting than this in sports. For most college football programs, opening week is a time of great optimism. Teams that had recent success look to build on their momentum. Those who have struggled are afforded the peace of mind that comes with a clean slate. And Notre Dame is overrated for another year.

Season after season, teams from BCS conferences use this week to ensure they get off on the right foot. This means scheduling a vastly inferior opponent. 2010 is no different. No. 9 Iowa is opening up against Eastern Illinois. Jimbo Fisher will coach his first game for No. 20 Florida State against Samford. And No. 8 Nebraska will test its mettle against the Big Red of Western Kentucky.

Syracuse, both to its credit and demise, has largely avoided this route. Throughout the last decade, they have continually played tough competition to open the season. The results have been disastrous. The Orange has not won an opening game since 2003.

Saturday’s trip to Akron provides them a legitimate chance to end this dry spell. To provide some perspective, let’s take a look at some recent openers.

Thursday, August 29, 2002 @BYU – L 42-21

Opening in Provo was just asking for a beating. Syracuse was able to tie the game in the 3^rd quarter but the Cougars gained 615 yards and scored the final 21 points.

Saturday, September 6, 2003 @UNC – W 49-47 OT

This was the last time Syracuse won an opening game. Anyone who can remember a single moment from this contest, please post it in the comments section. I vaguely remember watching the helmets move across the field on ESPN.com’s Gamecenter.

Sunday, September 5, 2004 @ Purdue – L 51-0

A Sunday stand alone game on national TV. A recruiting disaster. Purdue QB Kyle Orton was the Heisman leader after one week and Syracuse QB Joe Fields was eventually moved to defense.

Sunday, September 4, 2005 WVU - L 15-7

Inexplicably, Syracuse is given another Sunday stand alone game on national TV to open the season. Optimism at the beginning of the Greg Robinson era is high and the Orange take an early 7-0 lead. Despite forcing 5 turnovers, Syracuse still manages to lose the game. It would be the first of many.

Saturday September 2, 2006 @Wake Forest – L 20-10

Wake Forest star quarterback Ben Mauk goes down with an injury, yet the Orange still can’t manage a win. Syracuse had 136 total yards. I retired to a Winston Salem watering hole.

Friday, August 31, 2007 Washington – L 42-12

We think it’s an April Fools joke upon learning Syracuse will again open the season with a stand alone game on national TV, this time on Friday night. The question going into this game was which coach is worse—Greg Robinson or Tyrone Willingham. Answer: Greggers.

Saturday, August 30, 2008 @Northwestern – L 30-10

The picture of Daryl Gross with a blackberry on each ear pretty much summed up where the program was heading at this point. Mercifully, it was Greg Robinson’s final opener.

Saturday, September 5, 2009 Minnesota - L 23-20 OT

This game had a different feel than any of the prior openers. Syracuse was spirited and competitive. They had several chances to win. An unforgivable overtime pick by Greg Paulus gave the victory to Minnesota, but for the first time positive momentum was building.

Saturday, September 4, 2010 @Akron