Syracuse Football is in an interesting position heading into the fall. The Orange can’t go anywhere but up after a 1-10 showing in 2020, their worst mark in over a decade. SU isn’t dead in the water though; the argument could be made that this year’s roster is the most talented in Dino Babers’ era.
‘Cuse has hit the transfer portal hard over the offseason, brought in some big recruits, and convinced several veteran players to return for one last campaign. These are all things Syracuse needed to do to be in a position to win in three months.
Garrett Stepien at 247sports.com wrote an article titled “ACC Football: One thing every coach has to prove in 2021.” Here’s what he had to say about Babers:
‚Äú Babers has to show something if he plans on keeping his job in 2022. Since a 10-3 (6-2) breakthrough in 2018, the Orange’s past two seasons have taken a nosedive, following the 2019 campaign’s 5-7 (2-6) finish with 2020’s dreadful 1-10 (1-9) mark. Simply put, Babers is on the hot seat and needs a strong rebound in 2021 to get some security.‚Äù
Babers isn‚Äôt on the hot seat because he has shown he can win before, but his chair is definitely warmup up. Let’s be real here, Syracuse Football is not exactly a destination job and it‚Äôs hard to win here in today‚Äôs college football. That‚Äôs not to say he‚Äôs meeting expectations though. The past two seasons have been horrendous for the SU faithful, but neither of those teams have as much talent as the one entering August 2021 does.
So what exactly does showing something mean? How about just competing with every ACC team. Look like your team belongs in the Power Five, instead of losing by 14 to a mediocre Duke team, or getting shutout by a wounded Louisville squad. Syracuse always brings it against Clemson, but where is that fire every game?
Twenty twenty-one is prove it year for Babers, he’ll need to show John Wildhack and ‘Cuse Nation that he’s still the man for the job.
Syracuse opens up the season on September 4th at Ohio.
