Phil Steele: “Syracuse football is finally back” with Dino Babers at the helm

College football guru Phil Steele joined Boy Green on The Score 1260. He explained why Syracuse football is back with Dino Babers at the helm.

Syracuse football arrived on the scene in 2018 much to the shock of the college football world. After back-to-back 4-8 seasons under Dino Babers, the Orange delivered a remarkable 10-3 campaign.

But the real question that remains is Syracuse back? This was the first 10 win season since 2001 after four straight sub .500 campaigns.

The Orange have only experienced back-to-back over .500 seasons twice in the 21st century:

• 2013 (7-6), 2012 (8-5).
• 2001 (10-3), 2000 (6-5).

Although if you’re going to trust anyone with the answer to the question, it should be college football guru Phil Steele. He joined Paul ‘Boy Green’ Esden on The Score 1260 on Friday afternoon and gave his answer to whether or not Syracuse is finally back:

"“Yes, I think it is. You look at the job Dino Babers has done getting this team to the level they’re at. All you have to do is look at the Clemson game over the last two years. Knocked off Clemson two years ago and really should’ve knocked them off last year. They led that thing by two scores in the fourth quarter, a tough loss there. It’s great to see Syracuse back up to that 10 win level. Now I’m not sure if they’re “back” in terms of the Clemson football level, but they’ve shown they can play with Clemson. Quarterback play is going to be key this year but overall this has been a team that is on the rise and I’m pretty excited about Syracuse this year.”"

The problem is, and this is going to sound weird, but Syracuse football fans are afraid of success. The fear that exists among Orange fans is if the team has too much success, then Dino Babers will eventually leave.

Phil Steele also commented on that fear among Syracuse fans and why he believes Dino can actually stay here with the Orange and continue to build this thing up:

"“You know, I think he can. This is a power-five school, so there aren’t a ton of places to go up from here, as far as the big programs go. Not too many attractive jobs open up every year. I think he’s a good fit here at Syracuse. You have an offense that operates on the pass, they’re playing indoors and I love that home-field advantage. A unique one at that with no air conditioning in the dome. I think he can definitely stick around even if there is success.”"

Dino Babers agreed to a “long-term” extension with Syracuse University in December prior to the team’s bowl game vs West Virginia. While the details weren’t made public, Athletic Director John Wildhack reiterated that this deal will keep Dino here “for many years to come.”

A few months ago in a seemingly harmless social media post by the official social media of Syracuse University, Babers contract details appeared to leak. The graphic suggested that Babers was locked in through 2024, Syracuse later denied the validity of that graphic.

The Orange will kick off their season on the road vs the Liberty Flame on August 31 at 6:00 p.m. SU’s first two games will be on the road, that’s the first time that has occurred since 2010.