Syracuse head football coach Scott Shafer must be some kind of oracle. At his introductory press conference, Shafer pledged that Syracuse would “storm the damn ACC”, and on Saturday the Orange did just that. In their first road game in their new conference and their first visit to an ACC stadium, Syracuse kept pounding away at the North Carolina State Wolf Pack and eventually broke down the door and stormed their way to victory with a string of long running plays in the fourth quarter that put them on top and secured their first conference win as a member of the ACC.
The win erases the sour taste the Orange felt at home last week in its ACC opener against Clemson and gives them renewed hope and optimism for their season and their chances of reaching a bowl game for the third time in four years. The game against Clemson wasn’t exactly a fair fight talent wise, but Syracuse was able to quickly rebound from their disappointment and travel down to Raleigh ready to play a team of a similar talent level. Syracuse and N.C. State played an absolute slugfest, but in the end, the Orange responded from every punch it took and was the team left standing when all was said and done.
Aside from a 3-3 record and an immeasurable confidence boost, the most important thing to come out of the win is that Syracuse appears to have found its identity. It’s an identity we’ve seen before and it may be one we should get used to seeing from Shafer’s teams: Syracuse is going to pound the ball on the ground and play good and aggressive defense. That’s the formula that Syracuse used to beat N.C. State, and that will be the formula they will need to use in order to win at least three of their six remaining games. As Shafer said after the game, “We believe in taking our Northern football down to the South”. Shafer is not only proud of the win, but proud of the way it happened.
What’s odd is that it’s taken so long for Syracuse to establish this identity. We knew heading into the season that the Orange backfield was loaded with talent, and they have finally taken off the way we thought they would. Despite the loss against Clemson, the Orange put up 323 rushing yards against the Tigers and then eclipsed that mark against N.C. State with 362 rushing yards. The difference between their two most recent games and their first four games has been significant improvement from the offensive line, which has helped to spring the running backs, as well as a quarterback in Terrell Hunt who is a nightmare for defenses when he steps up in the pocket and starts to run.
With Hunt being a frequent runner and the offensive line starting to get a push up front, the Orange have three formidable runners. Not only are they able to consistently get positive yards with their running game and get in favorable down and distances, but they’re also able to wear down defenses throughout the course of a game and ultimately break out long runs, which was how they scored both touchdowns against Clemson and how they beat N.C. State. Even with Hunt struggling to throw the ball, and his wide receivers struggling to get open, the Orange rushing attack is capable of doing enough damage to win games if the defense can hold up as they did against the Wolf Pack.
Ultimately, the Orange will need more out of its passing game, but the trio of Hunt, Jerome Smith, and Prince-Tyson Gulley running the ball, along with an offensive line that’s coming around and a defense that can hold its own against teams of comparable talent, the Orange have found its identity and found a formula that can win games. It may not win them every game, but for a majority of their remaining schedule, it will give them a chance, especially now that they know who they are and can embrace it; it’s just like Shafer said, “We believe in taking our Northern football down to the South”, and that belief just may get them to another bowl game this year.
Bryan Zarpentine covers Syracuse Orange football and basketball for ChatSports.com. You can follow him on twitter @BZarp and @ChatSyracuse. Also, add him to your network on Google, and keep up with Syracuse at ChatSports.com/Syracuse-Orange.
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