So my guy Neil Adler has your breakdown of the Syracuse football 48-7 win over the Western Michigan Broncos, which you can read here. And he even shared that Syracuse football is now 18th in the ESPN football power index.
Even though I was working, in 2023 it’s a bit easier to get information and even watch videos of the game plus press conferences and social media reactions.
In light of that, I’d like to share a few observations I saw when I got off work to see how it went.
Here are my thoughts on the Syracuse football win against Western Michigan.
Thank you, Garrett Shrader
First off, shout out to Syracuse University senior quarterback Garrett Shrader, who took a little time to make a young fan’s day. A friend on social media posted a video of him handing a young fan his game towel.
And while to some this may not be a big gesture, to me I can only imagine being that kid and how much it would have made my day if Don McPherson did that to me. This is how we can attract fans especially young ones to care about the program and hopefully have fewer “Syracuse sucks” people in the community.
Handled business at home 🍿 pic.twitter.com/ryqcHOJTKD
— Syracuse Football (@CuseFootball) September 10, 2023
Attendance issue
Yeah, I’m going to talk about it but I’m not going to lecture or insult anyone here…I’m just honestly confused by a particular line of thinking that I’ve seen shared on social media and heard around town. The truth is that I know life is difficult for some and my point of contention isn’t to the fan who can’t afford to go or life is busy and I’m not saying you have to go to every game or you’re a bad fan. But I do take issue with this notion that attending games like the ones against Colgate or Western Michigan aren’t worth attending.
Nothing I will say will change your mind and I get it and I’m not trying to purposely make an issue of it. I just do not understand why it has to be an event like Clemson or Alabama to go. What’s wrong with just going to watch with buddies or family or whatever and enjoy watching the games no matter the opponent? Grab a Dome Dog, some Dome nachos and a cold Labatt’s and just root root root for the home team.
I guess maybe it’s just me because I’d gladly go to any game I could to show support for my favorite team and provide a true home-field environment for the players and recruits looking to come here. Instead, empty seats are abundant and the visual of it is sad. Again I’m not saying if you’re broke or something else is going on that you’re wrong because I fall in both categories but I just can’t comprehend the “we need to play bigger opponents and I’ll go” mentality.
Depth and determination
Before the season started, many wondered about a second wide receiver and how LeQuint Allen Jr. would do and how good was the defensive depth. Well, with Oronde Gadsden II leaving early due to injury (along with offensive lineman David Wohlabaugh Jr.), what I saw when I watched the game film was a lot of hard work, determination and depth at receiver, running back and defense especially.
On defense, multiple guys are stepping up to make big plays including an 84-yard pick 6 by Jason Simmons Jr.
https://twitter.com/cusefootball/status/1700620871247749181?s=46&t=RAWkSYdkWcHr4uyB4BrHdg
As for running back, I know many believed in LeQuint Allen Jr. and he’s proven to be the real deal, especially watching him just back up and drive his way into the end zone on one play where he looked to be stopped. But don’t sleep on transfer Juwaun Price and true freshman Ike Daniels as they’ve shown they can contribute as well.
And while there may not be an outright number-two wide receiver, we’ve seen impressive plays out of Donovan Brown, Isaiah Jones, Damien Alford, and Umari Hatcher plus others here and there. If they can continue to make plays, this team will only get better with experience.
Find joy, not stress
And lastly, just a quick note that instead of complaining about why someone didn’t play in the second half, why the second half was a struggle or saying, “It was just a MAC team…let’s see how they do against a real opponent,” enjoy the game and victories instead of searching for causes for concern and future implosion.
These are games that at times in Syracuse history have been like a Ted Knight sitcom and too close for comfort so I say to you to take a deep breath in, exhale, smile and realize Syracuse football won without having to overanalyze it.
The last time Syracuse won back-to-back games by a combined total of 106 points or more was 1959. The Orange beat Colgate and Boston University back-to-back by 117 points en route to the national championship.
— chris carlson (@ccarlsononSU) September 10, 2023
Stop worrying about the past and enjoy the now. Syracuse football just won two games by a total score of 113-7. It’s okay to just soak it in and smile…I promise you it’s okay.