Syracuse Football: Former star Keith Bulluck, tons of fans quite frustrated

Heading into a much-needed bye week after a brutal three-game stretch, Syracuse football (4-3, 0-3 in the ACC) needs to pick up two more victories in its five remaining 2023 regular-season games to reach a post-season bowl for the second year in a row.

Without question, the Orange getting to a bowl game in 2023 would be an encouraging thing. Head coach Dino Babers is in his eighth year at the helm of the ‘Cuse. To date, he has two winning seasons and has reached two bowl games, going 1-1 in them.

There’s a good chance that Syracuse football will go bowling this term. However, many Orange fans want more than that, and understandably so. The level of frustration within the ‘Cuse fan base is high, and that frustration extends to former players as well.

The overwhelming consensus has been such that we all figured the Orange would likely go 0-3 during a three-game span that featured a home contest versus Clemson, followed by road dates against highly rated (and undefeated) North Carolina and Florida State.

What irritates fans is that Syracuse football has gotten destroyed in each of its last three ACC affairs.

This past Saturday afternoon in Tallahassee, Fla., top-five FSU manhandled the ‘Cuse, 41-3. That result means that during the Orange’s three-game losing streak, it has been outscored in convincing fashion, to the tune of 112-24, with all of these encounters on national television.

In the non-conference docket, Syracuse football looked impressive on both sides of the field, but the squad beat up on the likes of Colgate, Western Michigan, Purdue and Army.

When the Orange’s competition greatly intensified, the ‘Cuse couldn’t keep up at all, and that’s the biggest issue for the SU fan base. We didn’t “expect” Syracuse football to knock off Clemson, UNC or FSU, per se, but the Orange couldn’t keep the scores close in any of those games.

"To that end, former ‘Cuse defensive lineman Joshua Black, who is just an all-around good guy, wrote on X last Saturday, “I think it’s fair to say that nobody expected us to win this game, but to at least show signs of progression and a somewhat glimmer of hope to show this team hasn’t given up. Getting out-scored 81-10 in the last two games hasn’t quite shown that.”"

Keith Bulluck, a former star linebacker at Syracuse football who played in the NFL for numerous seasons, added on his X page, “Please stop putting Syracuse football on television! Thank you… #FrustratedAlumn”

I have to say, as a proud Syracuse University alumnus myself and a passionate supporter of ‘Cuse sports, it makes me sad to see this statement from Bulluck. I get his frustration, and I don’t blame him one iota for feeling this way. But it’s still sad to me.

That, however, is the crux of where we are with the Orange program. Let’s say Syracuse football is still able to notch a few triumphs down the stretch, and the ‘Cuse ends up with eight or nine wins in 2023 and gets to another bowl game, but it was awful versus high-quality competition.

I’ll be happy, in that scenario, that the Orange got to a post-season bowl for the second consecutive stanza. However, if the ‘Cuse can’t at least stay within striking distance when it faces elite foes, that does make it more challenging to get the fan base excited, and it’s also a big obstacle as Syracuse football coaches try to prevail for top-flight recruits.

Understandably, following the Orange’s blowout setback at Florida State, some fans are yet again calling for a head-coaching change. If the ‘Cuse makes another bowl game in 2023, I can’t envision SU Athletics leaders moving on from Babers, but to reiterate, all of the “negative” feelings that former players, Syracuse University alumni and Orange fans have expressed are, by and large, reasonable and justified.