Too bad Brigham Young and Syracuse didn’t play each other six months ago. It would have been the marquee matchup of the weekend.

No. 14 Syracuse vs. No. 25 BYU. National sack leader Dwight Freeney and 3,500-yard passer Brandon Doman. All-American running back Luke Staley peering through a stingy Syracuse defensive line. A BYU team that scored 44 points a game against a defense that gave up 19.

But tonight you’ll see none of that.

The world of college football was unkind to Syracuse and BYU this summer. Six months ripped apart both teams’ rosters and left them looking more like shaky upstarts than national powers.

Both BYU and Syracuse will learn much about their young, revamped rosters when they play at LaVell Edwards Stadium at 7:30 tonight.

“Last year, this game probably would have attracted more attention,” SU fullback Chris Davis said. “But it’s a more important game this year. After the first game, you get an idea of where you can go. We’ve got some questions we have to answer.”

About a final exam’s worth. Walter Reyes, who will start at running back, has rushed for just 139 yards in his career. The offensive line returns just one starter, and the entire offense brings back two.

The Syracuse defense seems in a better shape, with both linebacker Clifton Smith and safety Keeon Walker picked as preseason Big East first-teamers. Still, it will miss Freeney and Quentin Harris, the top tackler last year.

“Yeah, we lost a lot on both sides of the ball,” receiver Jamel Riddle said. “We’ll feel that when we line up against another team. But I think we have the depth to be OK.”

Syracuse may use nearly everyone on its 60-man travel roster against a BYU program known for keeping opponents on their toes.

The Cougar offense huddles close to the line of scrimmage, lines up quickly and rotates players as often as anyone in the country. Brigham Young throws deep often — evidenced by last year’s No. 1 passing offense in the country — and starts three receivers. Syracuse starts two.

It won’t help that Syracuse is playing at 4,553 feet above sea level, about 4,000 feet higher than the Carrier Dome. LaVell Edwards Stadium packs in about 66,000 fans, and last year’s average attendance hovered around 60,000.

“It will be a tough place to play,” SU center Nick Romeo said. “But we’re not going to be kneeling over and gasping for air all the time, even up there. This is the hardest preseason camp we’ve had. We’re in great shape.”

Syracuse faces a skeleton of a BYU roster. Besides Doman and Staley, the Cougars also lost their top tackler (Justin Ena) and top sackman (Ryan Denney).

Wide receiver Reno Mahe, who caught for 1,211 yards last season, is the Cougars lone returning superstar — and as such, he’s under some pressure.

“He’ll have to carry much of the load for us on offense,” BYU quarterback Bret Engemann said. “We lost so many guys last year.”

And the Cougars losses didn’t stop at the end of the season.

Senior offensive tackle Ben Archibald, who had started 24 straight games, suffered a compound fracture in his leg during camp that will cost him the season. Defensive end C.J. Ah You, projected to start, ripped a knee ligament in camp and is also out for the year.

Marcus Whalen, the Cougars’ starting running back, redshirted last year and has carried the ball just 38 times in college.

Engemann hasn’t played since he injured his shoulder at the Carrier Dome in September 2000. That day, Syracuse won 42-14.

“It’s interesting, but no, I don’t have anything against them,” Engemann said. “It wasn’t a dirty play or anything. That type of stuff happens.”

“We know Engemann a little bit from that, and we know the things he can do,” Syracuse head coach Paul Pasqualoni said. “This is a very different BYU team than the one that came here. It’s not going to have that kind of result.”

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Published on August 28, 2002 at 12:00 pm