UPDATED: March 5, 2012, 12:17 a.m.

Syracuse’s 2012 schedule takes Doug Marrone back to when he was a player. Those SU teams went through the gantlet under Dick MacPherson.

Syracuse would play Nebraska one week, travel to Gainesville, Fla., the next.

With the addition of Missouri to Syracuse’s nonconference schedule, the Orange has an arduous path through its upcoming season. But it’s one the SU head coach is excited about.

‘I think that our out-of-conference schedule is challenging,’ Marrone said. ‘It’s exciting. I think those types of schedules make you a better football team. You have to get better quickly, you have to grow up fast.’

Marrone held a press conference Friday to discuss the completion of the Orange’s nonconference slate. Syracuse plays home games against Northwestern and Stony Brook, away games against Minnesota and Missouri, and a game against Southern California at MetLife Stadium. Syracuse currently has 11 games on its schedule, with one Big East game still to be announced, as the Orange looks to improve heading into Marrone’s fourth season as head coach.

The newest addition to the schedule is Missouri, a team that will be joining the Southeastern Conference this season. The Orange and Tigers play Nov. 17, right in the thick of conference play.

Syracuse and Missouri’s game is a one-year arrangement, according to an article published by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Saturday. There is no return game, and Missouri will pay out $800,000, according to the story.

The game in Columbia, Mo., was one of the few courses of action Syracuse had as it tried to fill its schedule after West Virginia and Texas Christian left the Big East.

‘We had a couple of options, and we did everything we could to try and get the best situation for our program,’ Marrone said, ‘and playing two (Football Championship Subdivision) schools was out of the question.’

Syracuse will play only five games in the Carrier Dome this season, with six away games and one at the neutral site against USC. Marrone said he did not know if there would be a return game where Missouri would come to Syracuse because of the teams SU has already scheduled for the future. The Orange will play a nine-game conference schedule when it joins the Atlantic Coast Conference.

‘(When) we initially went out and spoke to other programs and other teams, it was to get the home game here,’ Marrone said. ‘And then when those situations became exhausted, when we couldn’t get that done, then we took the best option that we had available, which was going out and playing Missouri in November.’

The Tigers are just part of what will be a daunting slate for a Syracuse team coming off a disappointing 5-7 season in 2011. USC returns star quarterback Matt Barkley and is expected to be ranked in the Top 10 when next season begins. The Orange and Trojans play Sept. 15 in a game dubbed ‘New York’s College Classic.’

Syracuse’s season opener Sept. 1 is against Northwestern. Both the Wildcats and Minnesota are Big 10 schools that gave Syracuse close games in 2009.

Syracuse begins spring practice March 20, the start of a long road to improvement before the first game. But Marrone said he is in favor of the grueling nonconference schedule Syracuse put together.

‘I like the schedule, and it forces this program to get better,’ Marrone said. ‘And to see what the weaknesses are and what the problems are throughout the season.’

mcooperj@syr.edu

Published on March 1, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Mark: mcooperj@syr.edu | @mark_cooperjr