Another Saturday, another loss for the Orange. Louisville snuffed SU on Friday night, 30-0. Instead of harping on the negatives, like poor 3rd down offense/defense, bad special teams play, lackluster officiating, and more, let’s look on the bright side. 
This defense continues to force turnovers. Dino Babers’ squad forced three in the first half alone, four in four quarters. SU‚Äôs 21 takeaways are good for the top spot in the country. That number is absolutely a testament to the play of the young guys in this secondary and the guy leading them along the way. Garrett Williams, Rob Hanna, and Ja‚ÄôHad Carter have been electric this season in the absence of Andre Cisco and now Trill Williams. With Iffy Melifonwu as the only veteran in the secondary left, he deserves plenty of credit for the unit‚Äôs play as a whole. Yes, they aren‚Äôt the greatest in terms of coverage but can you blame them? Just freshman that have been pushed into the spotlight, if anything fans should be excited for what‚Äôs to come in their young careers on the hill.
The offensive line has not been as bad as you might think. Yes, they’ve allowed the second-most sacks in the country at 32, but 14 of those came in the first two games, and arguably was more DeVito’s fault than the O-line’s. If those numbers become more pedestrian as they did in the following weeks when Sean tucker arose, they become a lot more middle of the pack. Especially if you take into consideration the guys that have had to start, namely Chris Elmore, a player previously listed as a fullback. It’s at least a huge improvement from last season.
There’s no way around it, this offense hasn’t looked exactly good. After Tommy’s DeVito’s injury, this offense has been squabbling. Rex Culpepper was no saving grace and Sean Tucker can’t do it on his own. JaCobian Morgan has looked promising at times, but overall doesn’t seem like the long-term solution to the problem that is this offense. Maybe Justin Lamson will come in next season and start to lay the foundation for a new era, until then Babers’ staff has to work with what they’ve got. 
Overall, it’s not a winning season, but the future is bright on the hill. Syracuse fans have a lot to look forward to on both sides of the ball.
