1985 Syracuse Orangemen football team

The 1985 Syracuse Orangemen football team represented Syracuse University an independent during the 1985 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Dick MacPherson, the Orangemen compiled a record of 7–5 and lost in the Cherry Bowl to Maryland. Syracuse played home games at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York.

1985 Syracuse Orangemen football
Cherry Bowl, L 18–35 vs. Maryland
Conference	Independent
Record	7–5
Head coach	Dick MacPherson (5th season)
Captain	Tim Green, Rudy Reed[1]
Home stadium	Carrier Dome
Seasons ← 1984 1986 →

1985 Major eastern college football independents records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 3 Penn State $	6	–	0	–	0			11	–	1	–	0
West Virginia	4	–	1	–	1			7	–	3	–	1
Syracuse	4	–	2	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
Boston College	3	–	3	–	0			4	–	8	–	0
Pittsburgh	2	–	3	–	1			5	–	5	–	1
Temple	1	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Rutgers	0	–	6	–	0			2	–	8	–	1
$ – Lambert Trophy Winner Rankings from AP Poll

1985 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 3 Penn State		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
No. 9 Miami (FL)		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
Army		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
No. 15 Florida State		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
West Virginia		–		–				7	–	3	–	1
Southern Miss		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Syracuse		–		–				7	–	5	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Pittsburgh		–		–				5	–	5	–	1
Cincinnati		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Notre Dame		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
South Carolina		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Southwestern Louisiana		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Navy		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Temple		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Boston College		–		–				4	–	8	–	0
Memphis State		–		–				2	–	7	–	2
Rutgers		–		–				2	–	8	–	1
East Carolina		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Louisville		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Tulane		–		–				1	–	10	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

Notable players included Tim Green, who earned unanimous All-American honors at defensive tackle and was a finalist for the Lombardi Award. Green was drafted 17th overall in the 1986 NFL draft, ending his career at Syracuse as the school's all-time leader in sacks with 45.5, a record that he still owns.^[2]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 14	at Mississippi State	Scott Field Starkville, MS	L 3–30	26,832	[3]
September 21	Kent State	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY	W 34–0	29,822
September 28	at Virginia Tech	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	L 14–24	33,400	[4]
October 5	Louisville	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY	W 48–0	26,922
October 19	No. 6 Penn State	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY (rivalry)	L 20–24	50,021
October 26	Temple	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY	W 29–14	45,391
November 2	at Pittsburgh	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)	W 12–0	25,500
November 9	at Navy	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	W 24–20	25,049
November 16	Boston College	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY (rivalry)	W 41–21	45,790
November 23	at Rutgers	Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ	W 31–14	19,685
November 30	West Virginia	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY (rivalry)	L 10–13	33,431	[5]
December 21	vs. No. 20 Maryland	Pontiac Silverdome Pontiac, MI (Cherry Bowl)	L 18–35	51,858	[6]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[7][1]