EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — It was almost like Syracuse had to force New York’s College Classic onto fans in the New York City area. They didn’t want it, and they proved that by barely filling half of MetLife Stadium.

The official attendance was 39,507. It looked like there was a lot more red in the stands than orange. Sure, No. 2 Southern California wouldn’t have played Syracuse in the Carrier Dome, but the Orange could’ve played a more beatable team at home and attracted 40,000 of its own fans easily.

Instead, SU scheduled a game against an elite program all in the name of more exposure that ultimately won’t matter.

The Trojans struggled early on, but clicked like we all knew they would in the second half. Quarterback Matt Barkley threw for six touchdowns, and wide receivers Robert Woods and Marqise Lee burned SU’s secondary for five of them.

USC head coach Lane Kiffin credited Syracuse for a good game, but he also said the atmosphere didn’t exactly make for a high-intensity game — a stark contrast to the packed stadiums the Trojans normally play in.

“I thought they (USC) did a really good job for a game that is not real easy to play,” Kiffin said. “First off, the East Coast, the two days, NFL stadium, not much attendance, lower than I think people thought, so there wasn’t a whole lot of energy, and then the delay — so, a lot of reasons why they could’ve not performed well.”

Lack of attendance. Lack of energy. Not exactly the type of environment SU was hoping for.

And the weather delay of more than an hour while lightning storms and possible tornadoes passed through? Wouldn’t have happened at a true SU home game.

This game wasn’t a part of non-student, season-ticket packages, so Syracuse fans had to buy separate tickets just to make the four-hour trip to MetLife Stadium. To make fans shell out more money to make the trip in a tough economic climate to see their own team seems unfair, to say the least.

But Syracuse relied on some of those fans making the trip and hoped its alumni base in the New York City area would come out to MetLife to watch the Orange.

That didn’t happen.

Next season, SU will play Penn State at the Meadowlands. If fans didn’t come out to see Syracuse play the No. 2 team in the country, they won’t want to come out to see a Nittany Lions team that’s a shell of its former self.

After the game Saturday, SU head coach Doug Marrone couldn’t discuss the benefit of the extra exposure. The loss stung and clouded any positives.

“Now it’s hard for me to answer that question,” Marrone said. “And I think it’s a great question. During the week, we talked about the recruiting, the venue. Right now, it’s hard for me to answer that question the way I would have during the week because I’m hurt about the outcome.”

That’s because, when all is said and done, it’s still a loss regardless of any increased exposure.

But this game could’ve been a win against almost any other team.

Syracuse remained competitive with USC for much of the game. But in the end, Southern California’s talent was simply too much to beat. The Trojans are ranked No. 2 and a national champion favorite for a reason.

If Syracuse played any other out-of-conference team in the Carrier Dome, it’s reasonable to assume the Orange could be 1-1 right now, given the way it played Saturday.

“We did win the moral victory; at the end of the day, everyone has wins and losses,” SU wide receiver Alec Lemon said. “We can play with the best out there and we feel confident going on the rest of the year.”

The way Syracuse coaches and players spoke after the game, it was as if the goal was to stick with the Trojans. And if Syracuse fails to make a bowl game by one win again, this game will hover as a mistake for a second-straight year.

Moral victories won’t earn bowl berths.

Chris Iseman is an asst. sports editor at The Daily Orange where his column appears occasionally. You can contact him at cjiseman@syr.edu or on Twitter @chris_iseman. 

Published on September 10, 2012 at 1:02 am