Location is everything.

And in the last three years, Syracuse football has known that adage well.

When the University of Southern California crossed the country as the nation’s No. 2 team in 2012, it wasn’t to play in the Carrier Dome. When Penn State went on the road to face the Orange in 2013, there was no trip up Interstate-81.

When No. 8 Notre Dame (3-0) kicks off against Syracuse (2-1) at 8 p.m. on Saturday night, the game won’t be in central New York.

“That’s the biggest misconception is you’re moving a game that would’ve been played here,” said Joe Giansante, SU Athletics Chief Communications Officer. “It might have been a different home game against a lower-level division team, but the allure of playing in New York City is what creates the opportunity for a big matchup with premiere programs around the country.

“Several of those teams that MetLife wanted to play wouldn’t play in the Dome. Financially it didn’t make sense for them.”

For Syracuse, an agreement struck with MetLife Stadium five years ago has helped the program push SU football closer to national recognition, provided recruiting benefits revenue from games against high-profile teams.

In August of 2009, before construction on MetLife Stadium was even completed, a deal — which include three neutral-site home games for the Orange — was agreed upon. Those games were against USC in 2012, Notre Dame in 2014 and another against the Fighting Irish in 2016. Last season’s game against Penn State was announced in 2011.

The initial connection, Giansante said, was a result of the university’s relationships with sports executives in New York City.

“(Stadium) management was looking for games and approached Syracuse being the only (Bowl Championship Subdivision)-level school at the time in the state of New York,” he said. “It made sense to have a regional anchor for those games.”

Brad Mayne, president and CEO of MetLife Stadium, said in an email that SU has been a great partner for the stadium, and has a tremendous alumni and fan base in the New York and New Jersey metro area.

MetLife seats 82,566 people and 39,507 attended the Orange’s 42-29 loss to the Trojans in 2012. Those appeared to be a majority of USC fans. But overall attendance was 61,202 in 2013 when Syracuse played Penn State, with a roughly even mix of supporters for the Orange and Nittany Lions.

And for SU, the agreement with the stadium provided a massive payday for the athletic program. This was particularly relevant when the Orange was still a part of the less profitable Big East, Giansante said, as playing games at MetLife was “critical to keep the athletic department afloat before the move to the (Atlantic Coast Conference).”

The stadium has also been a tool for the Orange to expand recruiting in New Jersey and New York City. Head Coach Scott Shafer said on the ACC coaches teleconference Tuesday that even though there isn’t measurable data on the recruiting effects of playing at MetLife, the games still play a positive role for the program.

Defensive tackle Wayne Williams, a junior college transfer from New York City, sat in the end zone during Syracuse’s last two games at MetLife as a guest of SU. He wasn’t always able to make it up to games in the Dome, so he said it was good having the chance to make it to a game in nearby New Jersey.

Recruits will be in attendance Saturday, though Shafer said he wasn’t sure how many.

“I think it’s a recruiting opportunity and an area that we want to continue to upgrade,” Shafer said. “Especially right there in New Jersey and New York City.”

Shafer added that he thought playing teams of Notre Dame’s caliber wouldn’t be possible without the marquee location.

Steve Lopes, senior associate athletic director for USC, said there had been talks with SU’s Director of Athletics Daryl Gross, who previously worked at USC, about scheduling a game. Playing at MetLife, Lopes said, was the intent from the beginning, because USC was interested in the stadium’s proximity to the city.

The two games scheduled between the Orange and the Fighting Irish also started with an interest in playing at MetLife. The date with Syracuse was announced back in 2009, but Notre Dame had to overhaul parts of its schedule following the 2013 announcement that it would play five ACC games each year as a partial conference member in football.

But the conference decided to leave the date with Syracuse in place. Michael Strickland, senior associate commissioner of football operations for the ACC, said the matchup was left alone to protect the significance of the game’s location.

“The notion of playing at a venue like MetLife, just coming off hosting a Super Bowl,” John Heisler, senior associate athletics director at Notre Dame, said, “you like the idea that you give student-athletes a chance to play at a place like that.”

As Syracuse prepares for arguably its most notable MetLife game to date, one scheduling success has led to another.

Louisiana State University, a perennial power in the Southeastern Conference, will make the trip up to the Carrier Dome in 2015 as part of a home-and-home series that was announced in the spring.

With an increased incentive for top-tier programs to face power-conference teams, the College Football Playoff has lessened the need to use a venue like MetLife to attract prominent opponents, Giansante said.

In 2010, the year MetLife officially opened, the Orange’s non-conference schedule was a four-game slate of games against Akron, Washington, Maine and Colgate. With the facility having bolstered SU football schedules in the past, present and future, Saturday’s game is the next step.

“Playing college games against Penn State, USC, Notre Dame,” Giansante said, “there’s no question that puts you on a high-profile game and gives you benefits that last you a long time.”

-Asst. copy editor Sam Blum contributed reporting to this article

Published on September 25, 2014 at 12:08 am

Contact Brett: blsamuel@syr.edu | @Brett_Samuels27