Syracuse Football: Is Clemson conquest key to bowl bid, Dino Babers job?

Sometimes when I write these posts about Syracuse football and head coach Dino Babers, I like to preface things to avoid confusion. I am NOT writing that if the Orange loses to Clemson, Babers should be fired.

I’m sorry but I’m not comfortable calling for someone to lose their job, especially one who leads a competitive team that I love and while I may not agree with every decision, I still respect the coach and think he is capable of doing the job.

This post is actually more looking at the positive aspect of what could happen if Syracuse football can win Friday night in the Carrier Dome (with me finally in attendance) against Clemson. I also don’t expect everyone to react similarly, win or lose, so this is just an impression I have based on what I believe.

So Syracuse football has lost two games back to back that came down to a final play. They’re playing their butts off and it could be argued that one play here or there could have won them the game. This team knows this.

This team and staff know they’re playing hard only to have their heart ripped out in the last seconds. But much like a heartbroken lover, the key to getting over it is to get that one person or that one win where it pays off, and I think beating Clemson is something that could spark momentum-changing that could lead to success.

Syracuse football head coach Dino Babers has a critical game versus Clemson with post-season implications.

So after two VERY close games that could be have been won, if you beat Clemson, you prove to yourself that you can win. There is an instinct inside you that now realizes your hard work pays off and if you keep working hard, it’ll pay off.

You realize your destiny is now in your hands and that you can beat everyone and prove your critics before the season wrong. You can send your seniors off with a quality bowl game win as a reward for coming back and working hard. I also think winning this game could attract more recruits to show this program is competitive with anyone and if you come here, you can make a difference.

You can also show all the naysayers who are looking to fire head coach Dino Babers wrong. So this isn’t 2017 Clemson level upset but this is a win that in another form could be “program changing” in that Coach Babers could use it to show he still belongs as the coach here at Syracuse, especially if this win does create the momentum that I think it can for the rest of the season as both coach and players prove they can play with anyone and beat anyone on any given day.

As I said, I’m not a “fire that guy” fan because I just don’t think it’s fair to assume we as fans know everything that surrounds the program and decisions that are made on that level. I also don’t think fans being unhappy should be the only determining factor for a person to lose their job.

I will say though that while I’m puzzled at times or disappointed at times even, if this team was losing 60-3 and not competitive or there were criminal/morally reprehensible actions or someone can 100% prove to me someone else would come to Syracuse University and have guaranteed success every year, I’ll listen to those justifications for it and maybe join in.

But for now, I think beating Clemson is a cure for shaking that monkey off the back…for now at least. If it does create enough momentum that this team makes a bowl game, that’s a win in my book considering how many people counted this team out before the season. You can shut up the critics, calm down the fan base calling for change and prove that you can have a winning program at Syracuse University.

If you lose this one, while I don’t think it’s a fireable offense, the voices will get louder. They’ll say that you were unable to do this in a season where you should have. I also think those last five games will likely end up fueling those voices where many people, including your own fans, are frequently pessimistic. And also with many saying “Syracuse stinks” with every other breath they take, refusing to see anything positive (this is not a definition of every pessimistic fan but merely referring to that portion of the fan base that constantly believes and expresses this thought).

Beat Clemson in a game you can win on a Friday night on a big stage. Turn that momentum around. Prove you can win. Make a bowl game. Then, 2021 is now a season you can look upon with a smile and you can still claim you beat Clemson. And quiet your critics in one game.

Let’s Go Orange!