Prominent players of the period included Donovan McNabb , Marvin Harrison , Dwight Freeney , Keith Bulluck , Rob Moore , Donovin Darius , Qadry Ismail , Kevin Johnson , Rob Konrad , Tebucky Jones , and Marvin Graves . Rivalries shifted in the early 1990s as Penn State ended its series with Syracuse and joined the Big Ten . Syracuse , meanwhile , joined the newly formed Big East football conference with traditional rival West Virginia University , and national power Miami . In 2004 , Miami and Virginia Tech left the Big East to join the Atlantic Coast Conference , followed by Boston College in 2005 , threatening the stature of the Big East . Syracuse was originally invited to leave the Big East and join the ACC , but under pressure from the Governor of Virginia , the ACC decided to invite Virginia Tech to join the conference , instead . Thus , Syracuse remained in the Big East . Syracuse 's streak of winning seasons ended in 2002 when they went 4 – 8 . This was followed by consecutive 6 – 6 seasons . Although they won a share of the Big East title in 2004 and competed in the Champs Sports Bowl , the teams from 2002 to 2004 were considered mediocre by Syracuse standards . This prompted new athletic director Dr. Daryl Gross to fire Pasqualoni after 14 years at the helm
Big East
Big East Conference (1979–2013)
Syracuse Orange football