At the conclusion of the 2004 season the team lost the Champs Sports Bowl 51–14. New athletic director Daryl Gross fired Pasqualoni on December 29, 2004, despite Syracuse's president, Nancy Cantor, publicly stating that Pasqualoni would be on the sideline the next season. He was replaced by Greg Robinson, who had been serving as the defensive coordinator at the University of Texas. During the 2005 season, the first season in 14 years without Pasqualoni leading the team and the first in 17 years without him on the staff, the Orange posted a record of 1–10, the worst on-field record in the 117-year history of Syracuse football.