SYRACUSE - Syracuse football coach Paul Pasqualoni was in a relaxed mood on Monday, one stormy week behind him and another on the horizon.

A week after he was given a vote of confidence to come back for 2005 despite increasing fan discontent with the team's so-so record (39-32) the past six seasons, Pasqualoni was focused on juggling final exam schedules with practice for the Orange's first bowl game in three years.

Syracuse (6-5, 4-2 Big East), which ended the season in a four-way tie for the conference title, meets Georgia Tech (6-5, 4-4 ACC) next Tuesday night in the Champs Sports Bowl.

"The exam schedule has worked out to be pretty good," said Pasqualoni, whose players started preparing for finals after beating Boston College in the season finale two weeks ago to become eligible to play in the postseason. "The kids have done a pretty good job of being on top of things."

Pasqualoni's teams usually have done that. The Orange have the highest graduation rate (78 percent) among the 56 teams playing in bowl games.

"The challenge is making sure you do well in exams," Pasqualoni said. "We've got to balance that with excellent preparation. And when you go to the bowl site, you've got to make sure that you're not too distracted."

That might be easier said than done. The Champs Sports Bowl will be played in Orlando, Fla., home of Walt Disney World. To prevent players from going astray, the Orange are flying down Saturday and returning the day after the game.

"We'll be down there four days maximum," junior defensive end Ryan LaCasse said. "School's a big focus, but I still think we'll be able to have a little bit of fun and be able to deal with the game. It's a difficult balance, but it's also something we know how to deal with."

Syracuse hasn't been to the postseason since beating Kansas State 26-3 in the Insight Bowl in Phoenix to finish the 2001 season with a 10-3 record and No. 14 ranking. That improved Pasqualoni's career bowl record to 6-2 in his 14 years as head coach, and ending this season with another victory is foremost on everybody's mind.

"This is recruiting season, and signing day is coming up in a couple of months," said senior tailback Walter Reyes, healthy again after missing the last two games of the season with a shoulder injury. "It's definitely important, especially for recruits who are narrowing their choices down. It's very important for us to go out there and get win No. 7 and give the 2005 team momentum going into the offseason."

Not to mention avoiding a second straight 6-6 season.

"It's a big deal, especially in the eyes of our fans and ourselves," LaCasse said. "You take a lot of pride in your record, and 6-6 doesn't sound all that well. It's not something you want to brag about, but 7-5 is something you can be proud of."

Syracuse squandered a glittering opportunity to do even better by losing at Temple a month ago. They did rebound, upsetting BC 43-17 to salvage the season and end a 10-game road losing streak in conference play, but a win over the Owls would have given the Orange the Big East title outright and a BCS bowl bid.

As it turned out, mustering the motivation to beat the Eagles, who will join the ACC next season, wasn't very difficult in the aftermath of that awful loss.

"We played that game like it was our last so it wouldn't be our last, basically," LaCasse said.

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Notes: Reyes said he was 100 percent again. He suffered three torn muscles behind his right shoulder on a vicious hit early in the third quarter of the Orange's double-overtime win over Pitt on Nov. 6. ... Pasqualoni said everybody was healthy again, including cornerback DeAndre LaCaille, who separated a shoulder against West Virginia in October.