On Saturday afternoon, the Syracuse football team beat the Pittsburgh Panthers in Yankee Stadium, 28-13. Nobody will believe me but I predicted 30-10, so I was kind of close but what I didn’t predict was what we saw on offense…and neither did Pittsburgh.
At one point in the first half of the game, a sideline reporter asked Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi if he was prepared for what was happening. Coach Narduzzi seemed flustered and caught off guard and admitted they were not expecting the offensive formations Syracuse threw at them.
Now if you want a further analysis of the game, my brother Neil has you covered here. But what I want to talk about is what we saw and what to expect moving forward and why what I saw today reminded me why I can’t quit on this team.
The Syracuse Orange sit at 5-5 with two more games left, next Saturday night at 5-5 Georgia Tech (who lost to Clemson 42-21) and then at home versus 4-6 Wake Forrest (who lost to NC State 26-6).
Will we see more of what we saw against Pittsburgh in those games (and possibly a bowl game) or will Syracuse football take it week by week based on its opponent? One more win and this team is bowl eligible but two wins would be a nice 7-5 finish for sure.
Syracuse football halted its five-game losing streak on Saturday.
We’ve seen quarterback Garrett Shrader having injury issues but make plays, running back LeQuint Allen Jr. live up to the hype and now a healthy tight end Dan Villari going beast mode when the ball is in his hands. So why not find a way to let these three players have the ball more in creative ways?
I don’t know if this is the answer long term for the offensive woes so far but what I do know is on both sides of the ball I saw a team of players fighting and determined to leave it all on the field. I saw players making plays including a pick 6 and more than one rushing for over 100 yards.
You have to ask yourself, what if Syracuse football continues this and wins out? What if they’re not done and maybe this team has stumbled onto something they can build success on? If Syracuse finishes 7-5, would you consider believing maybe there is still something there for you to believe in?