It’s a disappointing step back
We came into this Syracuse Orange season with major concerns on the offensive and defensive lines. Yesterday’s 37-31 loss to Boston College showed that those were valid as the Eagles dominated the line of scrimmage.
As I do here, I try to look at each game from the program-wide view and I’m not going to blame the loss on the lines. The Orange came into the game knowing BC wanted to run, run and run some more. It was imperative to start strong on offense and dictate the game, but here’s what Syracuse did:
Drive #1: got into BC territory and punted.
Drive #2: 3 and out after a hold wiped out Kyle McCord’s 48-yard run.
Drive #3: a LeQuint Allen fumble that BC recovered at the Syracuse 42.
Drive #4: got into BC territory and punted
Drive #5: got into BC territory and turned it over on downs
Five possessions, good field position and the end result was a 14-0 deficit. Syracuse has now been out-scored by 20 points in the first quarter of games. As they’ve done in all but one game, the Orange battled back, but they never put BC down more than one possession and it allowed Bill O’Brien to stick with the ground game.
It’s disappointing because the sliver of hope to get to the ACC Championship game is gone and along with it went a shot at the top 25 and a chance to make this a great season over the final three games. Like the Stanford game, it feels like a game the Orange should have won and when you do that multiple times in a season it will sting.
Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images
To his credit, Fran Brown took responsibility again for being out-coached. The first-year HC has now lost three games- all against teams coming off a bye week. I mentioned the scoring deficit in first quarters, so I must also give Brown and his staff credit because the Orange are out-scoring opponents by 33 in the third quarter. This would indicate that in-game adjustments are taking place, which is a positive.
Now the Orange need to find a way to get off to better starts. When you are depleted on the defensive line and struggling to slow down the opposing pass rush, the best remedy is to play from the lead. Syracuse has three more weeks to show improvement in that area.
The final three games will determine the overall level of success of the 2024 campaign. 6-6 would obviously be disappointing. 7-5 would have a similar November swoon feel to it, but 8-4 would certainly be a step forward for the program. If the Orange could recover and win out, then 9-3 would leave us wondering “what if” all winter, but it would exceed most realistic pre-season expectations.
Above all, the final three weeks are an opportunity for Syracuse to show better discipline, to stop defeating themselves with inopportune penalties and poor fundamentals. Can they avoid a losing streak and show that there is an ability for the program not to fall into the slumps of years past?
In Fran Brown’s first season, the Orange continue to try and establish the consistency needed to take the program back to the top 25. Yesterday was a step back, and now Syracuse must keep it from turning into a slide.