The answer is no. The last time Syracuse had a victory so big that fans jumped over the railing onto the Dome field was the upset over Clemson in 2017. Do fans seriously think that Saturday’s win over NC State was on the same level, or at least big enough to do something that hasn’t been done since “Despacito” first became a prominent song? Come on.
When Clemson visited the 315 in 2017, Syracuse was a mere 3-3 and unranked (this turned out to be the last game it won). The Orange were 23-and-a-half point underdogs to Dabo Swinney’s Tigers. No one except the biggest optimist you can find in Central New York expected SU to emerge victorious. That was not the case Saturday. Syracuse was favored to beat NC State. The majority of Team Fizz picked the Orange to win. Storming the field, in a way, sends a message that you didn’t expect to win the game going in. Have people not been watching this team this year? Maybe before the season started you’d be surprised if we told you SU was going to beat the Wolfpack, but now? You don’t storm the field when you’re favored to win. You just don’t.
Additionally, Syracuse’s odds to win boosted significantly before the game even started Saturday.
Sure, it had been announced that Leary would miss the game before this tweet. But at that point Syracuse’s odds of winning increased significantly. Not just because of missing a QB1, but that damages morale. Substantially. So not only are you storming the field when you’re favored to win, but the opposition wasn’t at full strength? Not the time.
Finally, let’s compare this to the other noteworthy instance of when the field was stormed Saturday. It was in Knoxville after Tennessee knocked off Alabama. The Volunteers hadn’t beaten the Tide since 2006. The last time SU beat NC State? 2018. Alabama was also at full strength with Bryce Young back under center. Tennessee was an 8-and-a-half point underdog. It’s also Alabama. It’s Nick Saban. The Wolfpack do not have the same pedigree as the Tide. While Volunteer fans may have gone overboard carrying a goalpost into the Tennessee River, they without question had more reason to storm the field than the SU faithful.
Syracuse fans should be overjoyed with how this team has looked. A 6-0 start wasn’t exactly thought of as a possibility until a few weeks into the season. But Saturday’s win just wasn’t big enough to the point where storming the field was a necessity. If the Orange make and win the ACC Title Game or a New Year’s Six Bowl (or dare we say the National Championship), then we can have that discussion.
