The Orange are halfway through the season, and they are still only halfway to their ultimate goal of six wins. Both the offense and defense have experience severe ups and downs and this season has had plenty of pleasant surprises and crushing defeats.
Syracuse got off to the flying start that they needed and that was expected of them, grabbing three wins in their first three tries, beating Rhode Island, Wake Forest and Central Michigan. Then, on parent’s weekend, in front of a crowd of over 40,000, Syraucse turned in their best performance of the season against LSU.
Since then, it’s been pretty much all downhill, as the Orange have dropped very winnable games against USF and Virginia.
So, what can Syracuse fans take away from the last seven weeks?
Let’s start on offense. Maybe, just maybe (I don’t want to jinx anything), the Orange have found the guy who can lead the team for four years in Eric Dungey. He has been tremendous under center, highlighted by his spectacular leaping touchdown against Virginia on Saturday.
Dungey hasn’t been the only freshman to make his presence felt on the Orange offense. Half backs Jordan Fredericks and Dontae Strickland have emerged as threats on offense, and like Dungey, they have a long time to contribute to the Syracuse cause.
The other side of the ball has kind of seen the reverse effect. The season started strongly as the “bend don’t break” mantra allowed to them to start 3-0 and hang in there against LSU. It has gone downhill the last two weeks as they have allowed both USF and UVA to march up and down the field and put up points.
This is a troubling trend. Despite the recent struggles, the season is not lost. They need three more wins to get to six and they have three very winnable games left (Pitt, N.C. State and B.C.). However, they went from having to win three out of five of these games, to three out of three, so things are certainly looking bleaker.
This weeks game could go a long way to showing if the Orange have any life left in this season, which, so far, has been full with the good and the bad.
What are your thoughts on the first half of the 2015 season? Comment below with your thoughts. 
