Syracuse football jumps on another flight and travels back to the west coast for the second time this season. SU had a good experience when it beat UNLV in overtime in early October. So, why not remember those positive feelings and carry them up north to the Bay Area for a Saturday matinee with Cal?
I might be a bit biased here, but the West Coast is the best coast. The same could be said for Syracuse football so far, given that it has already played well in the Pacific Time Zone.
Every time a team travels cross-country, people tend to lean on excuses and offer many more reasons why a team should lose rather than win. Quite honestly, much of it is nonsense. Once the players hit that grass or turf, they enter a different gear and put off-field worries behind them for three and a half hours to compete for a win.
“We are going to do everything the same way,” said head coach Fran Brown. “I think the game is at 3 P.M. Eastern Time, so we are comfortable with that. We usually go to practice at those times. We just have to go out there and adapt to the air. It’ll be a little different–whether it be thinner or thicker, I’m not sure. We just gotta go out there and adapt to that, and we’ll be ready to go.”
The lesson for Syracuse going into Saturday’s matchup with Cal will be maintaining early momentum if the Orange can get off to a fast start, like they did in Vegas. Syracuse led UNLV 14-0 after the first quarter; however, that lead slipped away, and the Rebels outscored the Orange 21-3 in the second frame.
Syracuse has an easier kickoff time this week. The Orange didn’t kickoff until 9:00 P.M. Eastern Time in Las Vegas, but they’ll start around a normal afternoon time on Saturday.
