Syracuse Football: A season of hope … or a season of nope?

The Syracuse football program enters 2022 on the heels of some dramatic changes among the coaching staff and the roster. But what remains to be seen is whether or not these changes will manifest in improved performance on the field. Much has been said and written about the team and many have made predictions as to what to expect over the course of the season.

The way I see it, there are two distinct directions in which this season can go. And nearly all of it is based on play calling and personnel management.

A season of hope for Syracuse football?

What does a season of hope consist of? Well, here’s a bit of breaking news for you. It’s not necessarily all about wins (at least for this exercise). But more wins would certainly be the byproduct.

A season of hope is one in which Syracuse suddenly remembers what it means to be a Power 5 team, particularly on the offensive side of the ball.

A season of hope is one in which the offensive play calling consists of:

• Almost as many passes as runs – I’m fine with a run lean with Sean Tucker in the Syracuse football backfield, but a viable offense at this level still needs to be throwing 40-45% of the time.
• Passing plays that utilize the entirety of the field – we need to get away from this pattern where the only passes we attempt are at or behind the line of scrimmage, or deep sideline out passes. We need to use the middle of the field. We need to hit the seams.
• Throwing the ball to the biggest, hardest-to-miss target on the field, the tight end. A novel thought indeed.

A season of hope depends on a shot of inspiration and innovation from new offensive coaches Robert Anae and Jason Beck. But beyond this, a season of hope means a change in coaching philosophy at the very top.

A season of hope means Dino Babers calling timeouts when we have them and we are within 2 scores late in the game, not just letting time tick away. A season of hope means throwing the ball to advance down the field in chunks when we are down big late. Because that’s how teams that are trying to win make their way back. A season of hope means Garrett Shrader’s arm strength and accuracy have dramatically improved since last season, perhaps under the tutelage of Coach Beck, allowing him to captain this new offense in the way it needs not be led.

A season of hope means making a QB change for the Orange if it is apparent that Garrett Shrader’s arm is not, in fact, improved from last year. A season of hope is a season in which Syracuse recognizes, finally, that a viable passing game, and a viable passing arm, are essential to winning at this level.

A season of hope means winning games we should win…and one or two we shouldn’t. Now, with the schedule we have this year, that still may only translate to 5 wins…although if all of the above plays out, I think 6+ is absolutely on the table. But even a repeat 5-7 season…with this schedule, and a dramatically improved functioning Power 5 offense, would indeed represent hope moving forward.

The alternative for Syracuse football? A season of nope.

A season of nope is a season in which Syracuse football continues to run the same, predictable run-run-pass type offense that has resulted in this team bottoming out when it comes to play calling.

A season of nope is one in which we continue to ignore the middle of the field and the intermediate passing game altogether.

A season of nope is one in which the tight end continues to be but an afterthought.

A season of nope means if Garrett Shrader is ultimately not able to make the throws, he is left in there anyway.

A season of nope means that we risk running Sean Tucker into the ground.

A season of nope means that even when the defense is playing well enough to win games, the offense fails them by consistently delivering 3 and outs and tiring the defense out.

A season of nope is one in which Dino Babers makes questionable decisions like leaving timeouts in his pocket in a reasonably close game.

A season of nope almost definitely means 5 or fewer wins. And 5 wins with this level of offensive dysfunction, unlike the 5 wins achieved in a season of hope, would leave us, as we did last year, just plain wondering what could have been.

The bottom line

Look, I’m a realist. I understand that this is a challenging schedule. But for better or worse, I am also a late 90s Syracuse grad, one who will always have deep in the back of my mind memories of what was and what could be again. So I go into every season with a sense of measured optimism.

Hope even.

I’ve seen predictions among Syracuse football media tending to cluster in the 5-6 win range, which makes a lot of sense.

I’ve got two for you.

Do we see a season of hope? If so, I’ll go bold and predict we go 7-5…although maybe we settle for 6-6… and that will land the Syracuse football program in a bowl game. And if this bears out, I will officially say we are on the upswing. And in that event, I say Dino stays for a long time.

Or do we see a season of nope? In that case, it’s going to be an ugly 5-7, maybe even 4-8 season, and the post-season conversations are going to be equally ugly.

We can only hope.