BIG EAST Syracuse recalls painful 2002 loss

The Orangemen lost to Temple on a missed PAT; they have another chance today.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) -- Syracuse quarterback R.J. Anderson and place-kicker Collin Barber hear the same thing whenever they think about Temple -- the clang of the football off the left upright that gave the Owls an improbable victory last year.
With 30 seconds left in the fourth quarter, what should have been a game-tying extra point by Barber failed to make it through the uprights and the Owls escaped with a 17-16 victory, their first over the Orangemen after 16 straight losses.
"I can hear that sound. I thought about it all summer," Barber said. "It's a motivation thing now. I felt like I let my team down and I don't want that to ever happen again. It gave me a lot of focus."
Losing season
The shocking loss left Syracuse at 1-5 and pretty much assured the team's first losing season in 16 years.
"It's disappointing when you lose to Temple, and I'm not taking anything away from Temple because they played really hard," said Anderson, who drove Syracuse to its final touchdown in 51 seconds before Barber's flub. "But being in this program, you have to look at guys like coach Mac [former Syracuse coach Dick MacPherson] who were here for so long and you can't look at them in the face. We just don't want to lose against Temple."
The Orangemen (4-3, 1-2 Big East) will have their chance at redemption when they host the Owls (1-7, 0-3) at 1:30 p.m. today.
Both teams are coming off bye weeks and both lost the last time they played.
In last year's game, quarterback Mike McGann was 20-of-38 for 340 yards and threw two touchdown passes in the final eight minutes. But he strained ligaments in his right elbow in a 30-14 loss to Rutgers two weeks ago and his status for today's game is questionable.
Sophomore Walter Washington replaced McGann late in the first half against the Scarlet Knights and finished 15-for-28 for 189 yards and a touchdown passing and also rushed for another score.
That at least gives Temple coach Bobby Wallace a decent option that he might not mind using. McGann has completed just 52.3 percent of his passes and has thrown for five touchdowns while suffering six interceptions.
"He's tried, he's working at it, but he's made poor decisions," Wallace said of McGann. "I don't blame the kid's effort, but he's got to play better."
Dangerous opponent
No matter who starts, Syracuse coach Paul Pasqualoni remains wary after what happened a year ago at Veterans Stadium.
"I don't think we have to say a great deal about that game last year," Pasqualoni said. "I think that's pretty fresh in the minds of our players. It clearly illustrates that every single week you'd better be ready to play.
"I think this Temple team is as dangerous as last year's. There is no way that you'd say with their record that they're having any success, but I think they're like a bomb just ticking away ready to go off. They've got too many good players."