Syracuse football is on a bye week this week with 3 games remaining on the schedule. Next week they’ll play at Louisville, then at NC State the week after, and finish up at home against Pittsburgh.
With Pittsburgh and NC State both ranked and Louisville retiring Lamar Jackson’s jersey, these games will be a tough hill to climb. However saying that, I truly think Syracuse football could win the three to close the season 8-4 if key players stay healthy and momentum continues.
Let’s start with the fact that a bye week is a good time to rest as well as work on things. Football is a physical game and resting the body can help especially if anyone is nursing “owwies” as Head Coach Dino Babers calls them.
This also gives players who might need some practice and reps a chance to work on things or even build up confidence, and to do so without the pressure of having to tune it up in a couple of days before it’s game day.
It won’t be easy, but Syracuse football has a legitimate chance to close out 3-0.
So now let’s break down the three remaining opponents, starting with Louisville. Much like BC and Virginia Tech, who Syracuse has recently beat, Louisville sits at 4-4 with Clemson on their schedule this weekend.
In their favor, one of those wins did come at the expense of FSU who beat Syracuse earlier this season. However, to their dismay, Louisville announced recently that Kei’Trel Clark, a starting corner, is out for the remainder of 2021 due to an ACL injury requiring season-ending surgery, according to ESPN, along with a top linebacker.
This will not be a blowout by any means but this is a game much like the past two that Syracuse could pull away and win at some point. Especially if the offense can get some plays in the air hopefully utilizing Damien Alford, Sharod Johnson or maybe even Luke Benson/Chris Elmore (if the Rhino is healthy) and take advantage of those key injuries to open up the running game.
Of the three games left, the game at NC State scares me the most. First off, the game is in Raleigh and those fans will be pumped. Second, the NC State Wolfpack were ranked 19th in the recently released College Football Playoff Poll and second only to undefeated Wake Forest in the Atlantic division.
One advantage here for Syracuse might be that much like Louisville, the Wolfpack have lost two starters for the remainder of the season, including LB Isaiah Moore, who is their number 2 player in tackles this season, according to ESPN. Moore’s absence could be especially vital if the combo of running back Sean Tucker and quarterback Garrett Shrader can get some lanes from Syracuse’s impressive offensive line.
And last but not least, Syracuse closes out the season with a home game against former Big East foe (and a team many consider a rival) the Pittsburgh Panthers. By the way, Pittsburgh also made the College Playoff Rankings Poll in the 25 position so this won’t be easy. But my instincts tell me this game Syracuse will thrive on to play spoiler as well as ensure a quality bowl game to prove they can win. Pittsburgh sits at 6-2, currently leading the Coastal division with the potential to play in Charlotte for the ACC title.
When they lost to Western Michigan, I think many were ready to count them out but they proved that theory wrong with a win against Clemson as well, and their only other loss was in a close game that could have gone either way last week against Miami.
Pittsburgh senior QB Kenny Pickett has broken records set by Dan Marino and been mentioned as a possible Heisman contender should Pittsburgh win the ACC, and he has the 4th best QB rating according to ESPN.com.
Syracuse’s secondary may have to at times be ESPN SportsCenter Top 10-worthy to stay in this game but if Garrett Williams, Duce Chesnut and the rest of the secondary are healthy and ready, this will be a spot to shine. Also look for Mikel Jones, Cody Roscoe and Kingsley Jonathan especially to try and keep pressure on Pickett, knowing ahead of time he’s a weapon they need to contain.
Would I be shocked if Syracuse went 1-2 or 0-3 during this span? Not this season. However, I do think 1-2 wins are likely and 3 are possible, if we see that team who can play with anyone show up for these games and make the plays that they need to make.
Even the most pessimistic of the fan base would have to look at where they thought Syracuse football would be and concede that 8 wins are definitely a successful season. I’ll be watching with the belief the Orange can pull this off and get into a nice bowl game to wrap up the season.