Syracuse head coach Doug Marrone reiterated his pride in his team’s performance in its 45-26 win over No. 11 Louisville on Monday.

But as he has all season, Marrone turned his focus to the Orange’s next game. SU (5-5, 4-2 Big East) will travel to Columbia, Mo., to take on Southeastern Conference opponent Missouri (5-5, 2-5 SEC) on Saturday — a tough nonconference matchup as both teams look to lock up bowl eligibility with two regular-season games remaining.

“Now it’s a challenge to keep that going and the schedule doesn’t get easier,” Marrone said during the Big East coaches’ teleconference. “Late in the year, going out to play an SEC team in their home field and a very talented team so we got our work cut out for us and we got to get back to work.”

The Tigers have endured a rough transition into the SEC — widely considered the best conference in the country — suffering all five of their losses in conference play. Four of those five opponents are ranked in the top 12 in the nation and combine for a 35-5 record. And though Missouri is currently in the bottom half of the league in total offense and defense, Marrone is preparing his team for another quality opponent.

Marrone said the team plans to avoid a letdown like it did following its upset of West Virginia last season by preparing with the same focus it did heading into the Louisville game.

He acknowledged SU’s letdown after that big win and the team’s struggles on the road before stressing the need for his team to execute.

“We’re trying to do a lot of the things we did last week, mirror that and become better,” Marrone said during the teleconference. “And get these game plans and go out there and play a very talented and a very good football team.”

Nassib continues standout senior season

Ryan Nassib capped his career at the Carrier Dome with a memorable victory on Saturday.

The SU quarterback led his team to an upset of Louisville, throwing for three touchdowns and 246 yards. He now sits atop the Big East in career completions with 738, and he is only six yards away from passing Marvin Graves to become Syracuse’s all-time leader in career passing yards.

Nassib moved past Donovan McNabb for second all-time and goes into the Missouri game with 3,114 yards. The senior has completed 63.4 percent of his passes to go with 21 touchdowns compared to eight interceptions.

Marrone spoke about Nassib’s contributions to the program and his development the last four years following the win on Saturday. And he shared similar sentiments on Monday.

Said Marrone: “I tell him all the time I can appreciate how much work he’s put into becoming a better leader on this football team and it’s really helped us.”

Published on November 12, 2012 at 11:50 pm

Contact Ryne: rjgery@syr.edu