I had just finished watching the riveting start to the SU football season Saturday and found myself feeling quite a void.

Don’t get me wrong, I love watching my university’s football team go on losing streaks of 10 or more games as much as the next guy. But I felt something missing. I wanted to feel like I could follow a successful big-time college athletics program — right now.

So, since I was already at my computer enjoying the spoils of ESPN360, I figured I’d visit The Greatest Web Site in the World — a.k.a. YouTube.com — to trek to an Orange past and gather some SU video clips.

My hope was to dip in the nostalgic waters of recent Syracuse athletic success, but unfortunately there wasn’t much video available to choose from. Still, I rounded up five of the best Orange-related clips on the site for your enjoyment in no particular order, with the links available at www.dailyorange.com:

2004 Champs Sports Bowl: Calvin Johnson’s catch vs. Syracuse

This is kind of stretching it since the highlight is of Georgia Tech’s stud wide receiver making a spectacular grab in double coverage over ex-Orange safety Diamond Ferri’s shoulders.

But I chose this one for a few reasons. One, it takes us back to SU’s last bowl game. And even if they danced horribly, at least they made it to the prom. Two, we get a nice extended close-up of old ballcoach Paul Pasqualoni, something we upperclassmen can get a warm chuckle from. And lastly, we get to see a receiver make a nice catch. You know, in case you forgot what that looked like after Saturday.

Fan thanks Daryl Gross for firing Paul Pasqualoni

Somebody, presumably a student, took a personal video at an SU game thanking the athletic director ‘for getting rid of Paul!’ Gross responds with his trademark smile, a fist pump and a couple of emphatic finger points. Ah, the old days when change and success seemed imminent for the football team.

Gerry McNamara Tribute Mix

This one-minute highlight reel came during the whole ‘Overrated’ fiasco during the Big East Championship last spring. I actually heard two people still talking about this on the Quad last week. Come on folks, time to let it go and accept McNamara for what he was — the Al Pacino of Syracuse basketball.

Yes, Pacino starred in ‘The Godfather,’ ‘Scarface’ and ‘Heat.’ But he also has ‘Any Given Sunday,’ ‘The Devil’s Advocate’ and ‘S1m0ne’ on his rsum.

McNamara had the six 3-pointers against Kansas in 2003’s national title game, orchestrated the scintillating Big East tourney run last spring, and who could forget his 43 points on BYU in 2004’s Big Dance?

But he also had seven games in his senior year when he scored fewer than 10 points, saw his field-goal and three-point percentages go down every season as SU suffered two first-round NCAA tourney exits in his last two years.

My point is, both guys are just plain ‘rated.’ And we’ll remember Pacino as Michael Corleone and McNamara as gutsy long-distance gunner while selectively forgetting the bad stuff. Videos like this make sure the good never dies.

Men’s Basketball 2003 National Title

The leaping, the hugging, the orgies of celebration — it’s all here in a clip that highlights the apex of Syracuse’s modern athletic history. You’ve got ‘Melo dominating. There’s a young Hakim Warrick flying out of nowhere to make ‘The Block.’ McNamara’s there and even old favorites like Craig Forth and the immortal Jeremy McNeil make appearances.

This year is the first in which none of SU’s classes (save architecture) can say they were here for the championship, so the luster has kind of worn. But I remember the Orange winning just a few days after getting my acceptance letter to this school, so the memories are still warm for me. Check out the clip for a taste of the really good ol’ days.

Mike Powell highlight mix

No doubt the greatest athlete I’ve seen in my time here, having missed Carmelo Anthony by a year. If you’ve never seen lacrosse or Mike Powell in action, do yourself the favor. I can’t begin to describe his sublime ability without drooling and babbling.

OK, I’ll babble.

The man controlled a stick like I do a pencil. He could shoot from any angle around/between/ above any body part and it’s like his feet came with emergency breaks and swivels to stop and spin on a pin. Luckily, you can see it all for yourself.

Bonus pick: Hakim Warrick dunk reel (explicit music)

Just go straight to the 3:13 mark to watch the multiple angles and slow-mo looks at Warrick’s vicious defamation of Texas’ Royal Ivey in the 2003 Final Four. Three years later and it still never gets old.

So that’s how I spent my Saturday evening.

And if you think that’s sad, just think about how the Orange might not produce any YouTube-worthy clips in any sport for at least another three months.

Oh well. There’s always AddictingGames.com to pass the time.