Syracuse Orange football: finding perspective in what we’re seeing from the Orange

The Syracuse Orange controlled last night’s game against the NC State Wolfpack. They won an ACC road game in a place where we’ve seen some nightmares. Orange fans should be very happy this morning.

I challenge any of you to honestly say you thought the Orange would be better than 5-1 at this point in the season. Has the team played a full 60 minute game yet this year? No, I think that’s the exciting part of where Syracuse sits as we enter this bye week. 5-1 and room to get better.

The back half of the schedule will be a challenge- starting next Thursday night at the 6-0 Pittsburgh Panthers, but this is all we could have asked for when the 2024 season began. Syracuse has put themselves in a position where they change the national perception of the program and establish a foundation on the return that all of us have been waiting for the last 20+ years.

Last night was another example that this team is resilient. The offense dominated the first half and came up empty in the red zone. The defense broke down and got a terrible call that led to NC State’s touchdown. Yet, both units found a way to grind it out in the second half. Yes, the Wolfpack moved the ball on the Orange, but as some in the game thread were calling them trash, the defense came up with three forced turnovers.

The offense has had better nights, but they were 9-18 on third and fourth down conversions. They controlled possession, wore down the Wolfpack defense and kept the crowd at bay. When NC State began to focus coverage on Oronde Gadsden and Trebor Pena, Kyle McCord turned to Jackson Meeks for nine completions in the second half.

The team gets another bye week to try and get some players healthy and to have more time to work out the offensive and defensive line rotations. No one in the Syracuse Football facility showed up today thinking that this team has reached their potential and that should be exciting for fans.

Once again I’m asking you to not spend the next 10+ days dwelling on the negatives. Let’s enjoy what we’re seeing right now and find that rational optimism. We’ve suffered enough misery so we should allow ourselves to feel some joy over the 5-1 Syracuse Football squad.