Syracuse Football: Orange can make a bowl, but path is an arduous one

Syracuse football evened its overall record during the 2021 campaign at 4-4 after a magnificent victory on the road against Virginia Tech this past Saturday afternoon.

With four games left on the docket in the 2021 regular season, the Orange (4-4, 1-3) can reach a half-dozen victories, and hopefully secure a post-season bowl berth, by grabbing two more wins in its final quartet of Atlantic Coast Conference clashes.

Considering that the ‘Cuse managed just one triumph in all of the 2020 stanza, that we’re sitting here talking about the possibility of the Orange getting into a bowl this term is remarkable.

Conversely, what’s frustrating to me and many other Syracuse football fans is that the ‘Cuse is a few plays away from being much better than 4-4. Realistically, the Orange could be 6-2 or perhaps 7-1, and ranked in the major top-25 polls. Oh well.

Here’s how Syracuse football reaches six successes and lands in a bowl.

On Saturday, Oct. 30, the ‘Cuse hosts long-time rival Boston College. Then the Orange has a bye week. After that, Syracuse football makes a trip to Louisville on Saturday, Nov. 13.

A week later, on Saturday, Nov. 20, the ‘Cuse is at N.C. State. To wrap up the 2021 regular season, Syracuse football will take on another long-term rival, No. 17 Pittsburgh, in Central New York on Saturday, Nov. 27.

Let me first just say that those are four pretty tough league encounters for the Orange. If the ‘Cuse is able to pick up two conquests, that would be a sizable feat in my opinion, and Syracuse football would absolutely deserve to go bowling.

At this juncture, Boston College is last in the ACC’s Atlantic division. Louisville is tied for fourth in the Atlantic. N.C. State is second in the Atlantic. Finally, Pittsburgh is first in the conference’s Coastal division.

For the Orange to feel good about potentially notching six wins, the team has to beat Boston College this coming Saturday at home. Why? Because two of the last three games are on the road, and the third of those contests is against Pittsburgh, which looks like the second-best group in the ACC this term behind Wake Forest.

I do think that the ‘Cuse is likely to fall to the Panthers. That means Syracuse football must knock off either Louisville or N.C. State on the road. That is a tall task, but the Orange proved this past weekend that it can take down a foe away from the Carrier Dome.

I’m fairly confident that Syracuse football will get to five victories this season. As far as six wins go, that’s a little iffier in my book.