Doug Marrone knows the feeling. It’s that supreme level of confidence that more than crosses into cockiness every time you step on the field.

You know you’re going to win because, well, you’re not in the same class as the other team.

‘When I was at Tennessee, we played some teams, and we knew we were going to win,’ Marrone said. ‘I don’t know if that’s arrogance or what. But we had some unbelievable players that are still playing in the NFL today. My point is, we’re not there.’

In other words, one team polishes its Pinstripe Bowl trophy — the only bowl win for the program since 2001 — and the other needs a whole crew to spit-shine the hardware from two national championships and four Rose Bowl titles in that same time period.

Those two programs are, of course, Syracuse and Southern California. And that’s exactly why a win for the Orange on Saturday would elevate SU to the top tier of the Big East. Both are storied programs rich in tradition and history, but the Trojans were the best team in college football during the last decade, regardless of the wins they had to vacate. Syracuse was not.

Saturday is a chance to turn a corner for the SU program. It’s more than a singular nonconference game in the third week of the season. It’s a checkpoint for Marrone as he continues to ‘change the culture,’ as former quarterback Greg Paulus put it.

‘This would be one of those career games,’ Syracuse linebacker Dan Vaughan said. ‘One of those games that you think about 20 years from now you’re like, ‘Wow, I played in that game.’ We’re hoping to go out there and make it special.’

A win would be special because of how many miles apart SU and Southern California have been on the college football spectrum since the turn of the century. It’s more than the 2,681 miles separating Los Angeles from the city of Syracuse.

USC had seven seasons where it lost two or fewer games. The Orange had two seasons in which it won two or fewer games.

The Trojans had Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush and Steve Smith. Syracuse had Perry Patterson, Damien Rhodes and Rice Moss.

‘We’re talking about USC, which is arguably, since 2003, maybe the best program in college football, and they’re still an excellent program,’ Marrone said. ‘I don’t think anything can get you prepared to play such a storied program such as USC.’

Yet it’s the same grandeur, splendor and dominance exhibited by Southern California that makes Saturday’s game so intriguing for Syracuse. It pulls to the forefront questions like: ‘What if SU pulls the upset?’ and ‘What would that mean for the program?’

It would be the biggest win for Orange since 2002, when a team that finished 4-8 knocked off then-No. 8 Virginia Tech 50-42 in triple overtime in the Carrier Dome.

It would mean that Marrone is miles ahead of schedule on his plan to restore Syracuse to its glory-day form.

Beat Southern California on the road to start the season 3-0 in just his third year at the helm? That’s a signature win that doesn’t deserve to be penned with the same ink as his so-called signature win against then-No. 20 West Virginia last year.

‘For this year’s team to get to 3-0 with some quality wins against an ACC team and a Pac-12 team — a team that’s arguably one of the most dominant teams of the last decade — I think that would make a statement to the country,’ Paulus said.

Let’s take that statement and apply it to the Big East.

While Syracuse struggled with Rhode Island last week, Louisville lost to Florida International, Pittsburgh snuck by Maine and Tennessee clobbered Cincinnati.

If SU finds a way to stun the Trojans and win this game, the Orange has to be looked at as the best team in the conference.

So that’s why Saturday is huge for the culture of Syracuse football. Marrone and his staff have certainly improved the team by leaps and bounds, but a win over Southern California on the road would be a landmark victory.

It means the culture has officially changed.

Said Vaughan: ‘I’ve gone through in my head all week what it’s going to be like if we win, and I really can’t put it into words.’

Michael Cohen is the sports editor at The Daily Orange, where his column appears occasionally. He can be reached at mjcohe02@syr.edu or on Twitter at @Michael_Cohen13.

Published on September 14, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Michael: mjcohe02@syr.edu | @Michael_Cohen13