1983 Syracuse Orangemen football team

The 1983 Syracuse Orangemen football team represented Syracuse University an independent during the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by third-year head coach Dick MacPherson, the Orangemen compiled a record of 6–5. Syracuse played home games at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York.

1983 Syracuse Orangemen football
Conference	Independent
Record	6–5
Head coach	Dick MacPherson (3rd season)
Captains	Blaise Winter Brent Ziegler
Home stadium	Carrier Dome

1983 Major eastern college football independents records

	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Penn State	4	–	1	–	1			8	–	4	–	1
No. 16 West Virginia	4	–	2	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
No. 18 Pittsburgh	2	–	1	–	1			8	–	3	–	1
No. 19 Boston College $	3	–	2	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
Syracuse	3	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Temple	2	–	4	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Rutgers	0	–	5	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
$ – Lambert Trophy Winner Rankings from AP Poll

1983 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Miami (FL)		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		–				9	–	2	–	0
No. 19 Boston College		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
No. 16 West Virginia		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
No. 20 East Carolina		–		–				8	–	3	–	0
No. 18 Pittsburgh		–		–				8	–	3	–	1
Florida State		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
Penn State		–		–				8	–	4	–	1
Southern Miss		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Memphis State		–		–				6	–	4	–	1
Notre Dame		–		–				7	–	5	–	0
Syracuse		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
South Carolina		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Cincinnati			–					4	–	6	–	1
Southwestern Louisiana		–		–				4	–	6	–	0
Temple		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Tulane		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Louisville		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Navy		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Rutgers		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Army		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 2	at Temple	Franklin Field Philadelphia, PA	L 6–17	11,549
September 10	Kent State	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY	W 22–10	24,605
September 17	Northwestern	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY	W 35–0	25,979
September 24	Rutgers	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY	W 17–13	26,497
October 1	at No. 1 Nebraska	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE	L 7–63	76,382
October 8	at No. 16 Maryland	Byrd Stadium College Park, MD	L 13–34	43,700
October 15	Penn State	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY (rivalry)	L 6–17	50,010
October 29	at Pittsburgh	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)	L 10–13	52,374
November 5	at Navy	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	W 14–7	22,009
November 12	No. 13 Boston College	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY	W 21–10	41,225
November 19	No. 14 West Virginia	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY (rivalry)	W 27–16	36,661
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

NFL draft

Mike Charles (DT) was selected by Miami Dolphins in second round (55th overall).