I really don’t want to be a “Negative Nancy” about Syracuse football’s 3-0 start this season. I know it’s the first time SU has started 3-0 since 1991. I was born that year. So instead, I’ll just be “Realistic Rachel.”
Sorry, but I felt better about Syracuse’s 0-2 start three years ago than I do about this year’s start. A 3-0 record with wins against Rhode Island, Wake Forest and Central Michigan does not give me a resounding vote of confidence in this team.
Oh, and they’re on to their third and fourth quarterbacks already. Déjà vu from last year’s debacle? Well, maybe not exactly. But this team isn’t going undefeated either.
This weekend, the team will get blown out by LSU. Hopefully the new quarterback, Eric Dungey, can return after the LSU game. We’ll see.
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Even if he returns though, he’s still not Terrel Hunt, and we don’t know how he’ll fare against “real” competition. This is bad luck for the second straight year for Syracuse football, or so it seems, unless it ends up being a blessing in disguise.
But assumptions can’t be made when you are using more quarterbacks than you’ve had games. Luckily, the rest of the team has been playing OK. Still, considering how consistent the quarterback play was during the Ryan Nassib era, this quarterback frenzy has certainly taken some adjusting to.
As much as I hate to say it, this game against LSU won’t provide a huge glimpse into how good or bad this team is, unless SU makes it a close one. But you can’t fault the Orange if it’s blown out. This is LSU, after all. A power. This SU team isn’t terrible, but it doesn’t have Nassib walking through that door.
I hate saying that this team needs to play a safe game and do damage control. I’d rather say the squad is at full strength and can go at maximum throttle vs. LSU. But that’s not the case. The Orange has to look to its strengths to make a game out of it with LSU.
If SU plays respectably, then 3-1 may just look better than 3-0 did. But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves just yet. SU can reflect in its unblemished start three weeks into the season. But no one is wearing any crowns just yet. Plenty of season left.
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