Syracuse Football: ‘Quest for 6’ (3rd quarter breakdown)

Paul A. Esden Sr. continues the journey for the Syracuse football squad known as the ‘quest for six’. Can the Orange get back to a bowl game in 2018?

In the first two articles of this series, Paul A. Esden Sr. took a look at the first six games on the schedule for the Syracuse football squad.

We enter into the third quarter with a record of 5-1 (1-0 in the ACC) based on my predictions.  Worst case scenario as this writer sees it we are 4-2.

So close to completing the Quest for 6 you can almost taste that Dr. Pepper and hot dog as we sit in the stands in December (it will be another year or two before we are there in January) rooting on the OITNF as they break our Bowl drought.  Not so fast my friends we have another half of a season to work through.  Let us begin.

We start off the second half of the year against North Carolina in the Dome for homecoming weekend.

The Tar heels are coming off a sub-par season of their own with a 1-7 ACC conference record and 3-9 overall.  If it was not for bad news the Heels would have no news at all.

In the past week they lost their Doak Walker watch list sophomore running back Michael Carter for 4 to 6 weeks with a fractured wrist and 13 members of their squad will be suspended for 2-4 weeks for selling their University freebie sneakers in an undercover set-up.

By the way, the NCAA has nothing better to do than go after the non-paid athletes that build your multi-billion dollar empire for trying to make a few bucks? Get a hobby! But I digress … This team is just what the Doctor ordered to bring home the Orange their Sixth win!

Game five brings the great state of North Carolina back to the Dome as the Wolf Pack come up the hill.  The Pack is coming off an impressive 2017 campaign finishing 9-4 with a win over Arizona State in the Sun Bowl under its belt.  This game is going to be tightly contested.  On the bright side the visitors lost all four starting defensive lineman to the NFL draft so the Orange’s line should be able to get Eric Dungey the time he needs and keep him vertical.  This will be a potentially ranked Orange team coming in with confidence and one of the NCAA’s best Quarterbacks and I have them improving that record to 7-1.

We close out the third quarter of the season against Wake Forest.  They finished last year with an 8-5 record and a win over Texam A&M in the Belk bowl.  The good news for the Orange is that John Wolford has finally moved on.  The good news continues as not only is Mr. Wolford participating in two-a-days at a NFL training camp, his presumed successor has muddied up the waters as he has been suspended for the first three games of the season for violating team rules.

As we sit here in August it is hard to say who will be taking snaps for the Demon Deacons, the only thing we know for certain is whoever it is won’t have the skill set that our Heisman hopeful does.  I am surprising myself as I predict another Orange win bringing our season record to 8-1.

I wrap up my review of the third quarter with our Orange team 8-1.  We enter the fourth quarter of the season with the most wins we’ve had in five years and my prediction is we will be ranked in the top 15 in the nation with the only loss being to top-5 ranked Clemson.  Tune in for the break down of the three games of the 2018 schedule as I predict this will be a special year that will be a watershed year for the OITNF.  GO ORANGE!!!