Syracuse Football: Yes, the Orange is a true 5-0 team

I’m a sports talk guy, especially when it comes to Syracuse football and other Orange sports. I like podcasts when I’m at work and listen to Brent Axe on my hour-long drive home from work. It’s always interesting when you listen as a passionate fan to what you might hear.

Recently I heard a national radio host talking about whether an NFL team would be a “real 4-1” team if they’d won. And recently Orange fans have probably noticed the hesitancy to rank Syracuse football at first. They are finally in the top 20 but it definitely felt like Syracuse had to prove they deserved it more than certain favorites losing proved they didn’t.

My belief is that polls are flawed and based too highly on “expert expectations” meaning a sports writer thinks they know the potential of the team more than a record actually shows. It’s my contention that polls should be based on record especially if we are going to base jobs and standings on win/loss records as well.

So much of some of this talk is based also on not just the quality of the opponent as per those experts but also the size of your win margin. And for many, I heard the chatter that Syracuse football playing too closely against Virginia and Purdue “hurt them” (by the way, Purdue football is 4-2 with their only losses against the Orange and Penn State, and is a legitimate bowl team contender).

To me, Syracuse football is a true 5-0 team.

It’s my contention that one great quality of a good/great team is the ability to find ways to win those close games. Last season, Syracuse football lost three straight games by three points each. Had they won just one of those, they’d have made a bowl game. But this season, they’re finding ways to win those games and I think that deserves to be factored into things just as much as anything else.

So putting the sports talk trope aside about whether a team is as good as its record (because I think a lot of it is just to spark conversation), I believe most, if not all, are and this is a legitimate Syracuse football team. I believe if nothing else those close games might actually help this team believe in themselves and their teammates and their ability to find ways to win.

In a world where many people saw the schedule preseason and said Syracuse football would struggle to win even 5 games again, this is proof that this team has the ability to be anything they want to be and not what fans or journalists think they are. A 5-0 record no matter who you play is impressive and worthy of respect and hopefully, just the beginning for the Orange. Wins are earned on the field and this Syracuse football team has earned your respect.