Syracuse suffered its worst loss of the season over the weekend, enduring a 41-3 drubbing at Louisville.
With two games left to achieve bowl eligibility, we chatted with ESPN.com’s David Hale to get his take on whether Syracuse can get to six wins after a demoralizing game.
“That Louisville game was shocking to me,” Hale said. “One, Syracuse had been playing better, and two, Louisville hadn’t.”
Still, Syracuse has two chances left to get to the postseason, though it comes against two of the top teams in the ACC, NC State and Pitt.
While the Orange opens as a big underdog against the Wolfpack, Hale does see an opening against a team that just dropped a heartbreaker against ACC frontrunner Wake Forest.
“Maybe NC State comes in with a hangover and assumes they’re going to beat Syracuse, and the game doesn’t go according to plan for them,” Hale said. “You’re looking at a team that had championship hopes.”
1600 scrimmage yards through 10 games, ACC, past decade
2013 Andre Williams
2014 Duke Johnson
2016 Dalvin Cook
2019 AJ Dillon
2021 Sean Tucker— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) November 15, 2021
The same could apply to Pitt in SU’s regular season finale. If the Panthers top Virginia this weekend, they will be assured a spot in the ACC Championship game.
“How motivated is Pitt in the final game of the year?” Hale said. “Maybe that’s one that Syracuse can steal, too.”
Either way, Hale hasn’t given up on Syracuse just yet.
“I don’t know if I can pick Syracuse to win either of these two games, but I definitely wouldn’t rule it out,” Hale said. “I’d say it’s 50-50 that they get at least one of them.”
» Related: Syracuse’s bowl hopes take a hit at Louisville
We also chatted with Hale about a busy weekend in college football that saw Texas suffering a historic loss to Kansas, Florida giving up 52 points to an FCS team, and Michigan hanging on against Penn State.
“When Texas loses to Kansas, that’s a great joke for the next five years,” Hale said. “That’s an investment in our future happiness.”
Afterward, editor in chief Brad Bierman calls in to discuss Syracuse’s win over Drexel, and the emergence of Jesse Edwards and Frank Anselem.
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