Syracuse 3, Florida State 59 — What we learned

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Syracuse dropped its fifth game of the season

Syracuse was embarrassed by No. 2 Florida State, 59-3, on Saturday. Here are a few thoughts from the game:

Syracuse has a long way to go

To be sure, no one was expecting a second coming of David vs. Goliath on Saturday, but Syracuse fans still have to be disheartened with the distance that the team will have to travel to get back into the national discussion. Florida State is entrenched as one of the elite programs in the ACC, and also in the country, and is a team that Syracuse will have to beat if they ever want to compete for an ACC championship and a BCS berth. A moral victory for SU would’ve been to keep the game in reach for the first half. Sadly, for the Orange, they were out of reach by the middle of the first quarter. That is not to say that SU can never be back in the BCS discussion again, but it’s not coming anytime soon.

» Related: Rapid reaction to Syracuse’s loss

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Shafer and SU were helpless against FSU

Whigham OK after scary collision

Members of the media received this statement from  assistant director of Syracuse Athletic Communications Mike Morrison on Julian Whigham late Saturday: “Julian was taken to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital with an injury to his abdomen. Julian is doing much better and is in good condition. As a  precaution, he will remain at the hospital overnight for observation.” The play happened in the first quarter, when receiver Rashad Greene beat Whigham and hauled in a touchdown. Whigham collided with teammate Jeremi Wilkes, and was writhing in pain in the endzone before having to be carted off in a stretcher with a reported abdomen injury.

Still a chance for a good ending to the season

All Syracuse fans knew this game was going to happen. Florida State seems destined for a clash in the national title game with Alabama and is the class of Division I football. Despite lopsided losses to Clemson, Georgia Tech and FSU, the Orange still has a very good shot at finishing the season at 7-5 for the second year in a row. Syracuse finishes out the last two games of the season at home in winnable games versus Pittsburgh and Boston College. A win against either of those teams will give SU back-to-back bowl seasons for the first time since the 1998-99 season, which would be a huge step forward for the program.

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About Wes Cheng 2907 Articles
Wes has worked for Rivals.com covering the New York Knicks, as well as for Scout.com covering Syracuse athletics. Wes has also been a contributing writer for the South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), for SportsNet New York (SNY) as a news desk writer covering all of New York professional sports, and reported on the NBA and MLB for the New York Sportscene. A native of Long Island, New York, Wes graduated from Syracuse University in 2005 with a degree in journalism. Contact him at wes[at]sujuiceonline.com.