Ah, the bye week. It may be the coach’s best friend, and¬†after a tough game against LSU last weekend the Syracuse players could surely use a break. The week is a good time to look over what you’ve done as a team thus far, and plan ahead for the future. In this week’s By The Numbers, we’ll do the same.
3: Number of wins going into the bye week
For most teams, having three wins in a season is nothing to write home about. For Syracuse, however, three wins at this point in the year is one of the most refreshing sounds Orange fans have heard in years. After having only three wins in 2014, the Orange got three wins in three weeks in 2015. Last year’s team was supposed to go 3-0 and be thinking about a bowl game as well, though, so Syracuse fans are proceeding with caution.
2: Players who need to get healthy during the week
Time is the ultimate healer, and bye weeks give players dealing with injury a whole lot of it. There are obviously more than two players who will benefit from the week off, but the biggest players who need to be ready for next weekend are Eric Dungey and Erv Phillips.
Zack Mahoney played well on Saturday, especially given the circumstances. It was an admirable performance from a walk-on, but if Syracuse wants to keep winning it will have to get its quarterback back on the field. Eric Dungey is working his way back from a head injury, which can never be rushed, but looks like he’ll be ready for next weekend’s game against South Florida. Phillips should be on the same path for a return after missing the last three weeks with a lower-body injury. He sent out (and later deleted) a tweet to a fan saying he’d be back for the game against USF.
The banged up Orange has done well up to this point in the season, winning all of the games it was supposed to win. With the bye week giving players well deserved rest and time to heal up, expect Syracuse to be ready for battle next weekend.
Posted: Nathan Dickinson
