Obsolete: The golden age of Syracuse football.

Like floppy disks, VHS tapes and Walkmen.

When the Orange appears again, there’s a better chance it’s part of a history exhibit than reality.

Such is life in the 21st century as a private school playing in a small stadium located in an economically depressed area without proper recruits.

Think Northwestern or Vanderbilt.

Both schools are the only private universities in their respective conferences, the Big Ten and the Southeastern. Northwestern re-emerges in the national consciousness every five years or so when they make a run near the top of its league. But they never warrant serious national title consideration.

That will be the fate of Syracuse, the only private school in the Big East, for at least the next 10 years, probably more. One-year wonders are always possible. Sustained success is not.

True, SU recently splurged for FieldTurf in the Carrier Dome and on brand new practice fields. But it takes players more than props.

Judging from the last five seasons of Syracuse football, the program cannot recruit the same caliber of athletes it did during much of the 1980s and 1990s when the Orange started every season with justified hopes of winning the school’s second national championship.

It doesn’t matter whether Paul Pasqualoni, fired following the 2004 season, or Greg Robinson walk the sidelines, the results remain the same. Syracuse’s combined record following its win in the 2001 Insight.com Bowl is 20-36, likely three losses away from officially being the second-worst five-year stretch in the 117-year history of the program. SU went 18-37 from 1972-76.

That’s why wide receiver Taj Smith warranted so much attention early this year before his season-ending collarbone injury. Syracuse, 13th in college football history with 667 all-time wins, hadn’t issued a uniform to that type of game-breaking talent since perhaps Donovan McNabb in 1998.

Look at the Orange roster. The only potential NFL contributors next season are Kelvin Smith and Tanard Jackson. Last year it was only Anthony Smith and Ryan LaCasse. Back in the day Syracuse would send about five per season-sometimes several starters.

The quarterbacks since McNabb have been Troy Nunes, R.J. Anderson, Joe Fields and Perry Patterson-and one of them isn’t even a quarterback anymore.

The receivers have been Pat Woodstock, Jared Jones, Malik Campbell, David Tyree, Johnnie Morant, Steve Gregory, Nick Chestnut, Tim Lane and Rice Moss-and two of them aren’t receivers anymore.

Call Robinson smart for eliminating the option and establishing a West Coast offense in a climate-controlled Dome, but the personnel just isn’t there to light up an outdated cement bubble with more than 10,000 empty seats. The best programs attract at least the 50,000 the Dome holds, the very best 75,000 or more.

The future appears as bleak as the present.

While fans try to look back at that three-game winning streak earlier this season as hope-heck, I even wrote a column saying you all should start thinking about the b-word-it should be noted Syracuse currently stands 109th in total offense and total defense out of 117 Division I teams.

Much is made of Andrew Robinson and the two quarterback recruits coming in next season-Cody Catalina of Greensburg (Pa.) Central Catholic and David Legree of Brooklyn South Shore. Remember, though, that Fields attracted more attention then any of those three. And there are no high-profile offensive line hopes, either, that could take pressure off the quarterback and actually open holes for Delone Carter.

Then there’s the defense, which graduates all three of its linebackers (Smith, Jerry Mackey, Luke Cain) and both of its cornerbacks (Jackson, Terrell Lemon) after this season.

The best argument for Syracuse somehow working its way into national title consideration by 2016 resides in the presumably weak Big East.

While the fact there’s only eight teams in the conference help SU, the Big East remains stronger than many give it credit. Louisville, West Virginia and Rutgers have a combined 23-1 record this season and all rank in the top 13 in the BCS standings.

There are some who may question the long-term staying power of those three schools, but reality states all three are public universities with the funds and facilities to attract some of the best high school athletes in the country. Not to mention each school employs one of the hottest coaches out there-U of L’s Bobby Petrino, WVU’s Rich Rodriguez and RU’s Greg Schiano.

And don’t forget about Pittsburgh, once a national power, and South Florida, sitting in arguably the best recruiting spot in the nation.

Several years from now, the Big East could be fighting for supremacy as the best football conference. In order to compete for the national title, Syracuse must first win the Big East. And that will not happen in the next 10 years.

The 1-10 nightmare of 2005 is still going without end in sight. The Orange simply cannot recruit the necessary athletes anymore.

Basketball season starts Friday. If you can’t watch, TiVo the game or download the radio call to your iPod.