Syracuse Football: Will the Orange bust, or end up bowl-bound?

One of our football gurus takes a look at the Syracuse football 2021 schedule and provides some insights on these games.

It’s almost here, as Syracuse football kicks off its 2021 season in less than three weeks. How will the season unfold? Well, below I take my first very high-level look at where I think this team’s wins…and losses will come from. Will we improve on last year? Might we even threaten for a Bowl?

Now, it’s important to remember. There are always surprises. There are always teams that play better than expected, and always teams that play worse. There are always injuries, and other unexpected twists and turns.

And, despite my comments below, I embrace the words of my friend Orange Chuck who says, there’s no reason at all we can’t win every single game. Indeed, there are multiple projected “L’s” below I think the team absolutely can (and very well may) win.

@Ohio

A true 50:50 game by every measure (including betting line, which has consistently had this a 1 point game). This is a huge game for the Orange. I won’t go so far as to say a loss would tank the season…but a no-show certainly could. While losing a close one could likely be recoverable, getting beat handily would be a bad sign. I expect a win in a fairly close game.  PREDICTION- Win (1-0)

Rutgers

Greg Schiano has Rutgers playing better football lately , and this may be a bit of a heart over head pick. But if the Orange are, in fact, able to get that win over Ohio in the opener, I absolutely see the crowd, excited to be in the newly renovated Dome for the first time, helping fuel a tough Orange victory here. PREDICTION- Win (2-0)

Albany

Simply put, this is a must-win and, frankly, should be a relatively easy one. Albany is a spunky team that can play good fundamental football, but anything less than a comfortable win here is a major problem. PREDICTION- Win (3-0)

Liberty

This feels like the “come back to earth” game. We all want to believe that we are better than Liberty, which is what we planned for when we scheduled this series. Well, right now, we aren’t. And we probably aren’t super close. Liberty had a dominant season last year, and nearly the entire team is back. This one will be a challenge. That being said, if we can somehow steal this one…we may be looking at something special. PREDICTION- Loss (3-1)

@ FSU

Will this be the year that Mike Norvell elevates Florida State back into the ranks of the conference elite? I don’t think so. But…he will further entrench them in the ACC’s middle tier, a far cry from the Taggart years. They’ll be a tough out at home. PREDICTION- Loss (3-2)

Wake Forest

This is a sneaky huge game for the Syracuse football season. If the early season plays out like I expect, we will be coming off back-to-back losses after a good start, with a tough stretch coming up. A win here rights the ship again, at least for now, and would get us back to 4-2 entering a tough stretch of conference games. PREDICTION- Win (4-2)

Clemson

We shocked them once. We almost shocked them a 2nd time. I fully expect to shock them again. Just not this year.  PREDICTION- Loss (4-3)

@ Virginia Tech

In some ways I am less concerned about how this game ends than how it starts. How do we come out after what may be a pretty big loss? Will the Syracuse football team enter Blacksburg motivated to put the Clemson game behind them? Or will it mope? That ultimately may mean the difference between a game we can win and one we lose fairly handily. PREDICTION- Loss (4-4)

Boston College

Another key game in the schedule given the challenging games that surround it, and probably another heart over head pick. Many are projecting BC to be one of the elite teams in the ACC this season. I’m not so sure. My gut says the Eagles are being dramatically overrated entering 2021, and the Orange have a chance to steal one. PREDICTION- Win (5-4)

@ Louisville

This may very well be a one-score game as I believe Louisville is just not particularly good. And I would likely be choosing the Orange to win this one if the game was at home. As it stands, I am penciling it in as an L….but this one is gettable if the team comes together…watch out. PREDICTION- Loss (5-5)

@ NC State

Feels like it wasn’t long ago Syracuse football and NC State football were playing at a similar competitive level. Well, while rarely being amazing, the Wolfpack have been a consistently solid team over the last few years. This would be a tough game to win at home. Extremely difficult on the road.  PREDICTION- Loss (5-6)

Pittsburgh

Syracuse football enters the game 5-6. By all measures, it’s been a step forward. But this game would mean bowl eligibility. I think they get it.  PREDICTION- Win (6-6)

All told, this feels like a team poised to take a significant step, but I see it happening primarily at home, as I am projecting a 5-2 home record vs. a 1-4 record on the road.

Ohio, BC, and Wake Forest are probably the biggest games on our schedule because each comes at a point in the schedule where a win, frankly, would be critically important. And, of course, the Pitt game elevates to that level if we are able to get to at least 5 wins entering the game.

It’s a challenging schedule, and the 2nd half of the season feels downright brutal, but it’s also a home-heavy slate which the Orange need to feed off of. I’m sticking with 6-6 and a bowl invite with a floor of 4 wins and a ceiling of 7. Maybe 8 if absolutely everything goes right (specifically, getting to 4-0 off the back of an upset win over Liberty).

Or maybe even 12. Because why not?