In August, we chatted with ESPN.com national college football reporter Andrea Adelson on The Juice on the Cuse Podcast, presented by SNY.tv, and we asked her if Syracuse was heading to a bowl game.
She paused for a moment before she made her prediction. “I’m going to say 6-6, bowl game.”
Adelson was one of the few national writers who predicted the Orange heading to the 2022 postseason at the time. And it’s easy to see why.
Syracuse was coming off its third straight losing season and was facing a gauntlet of a schedule. In the preseason, the Orange had a stretch of seven games where six of its opponents were ranked.
But SU started the season strong, routing Louisville, 30-7, in its opening game. That was the first of six straight wins for Syracuse that vaulted them into the rankings, where they ultimately topped out as the No. 14 team in the country.
While the Orange tapered off, and ended the season 7-5, it still fulfilled Adelson’s preseason prediction.
“It certainly something to build off of,” Adelson said of SU’s bowl appearance. “Making it to this point is great in terms of momentum and looking forward to the future.”
Adelson also said that while losing White to Nebraska was a big blow to the Orange, the loss of Anae to NC State wasn’t as significant with the promotion of quarterbacks coach Jason Beck to be the new offensive coordinator.
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“Promoting someone who works well with Garrett Shrader,” Adelson said, “who can utilize his strengths, while also going back to the principals with the run game, is very positive for Syracuse moving forward.”
Another positive step would be ending the season on a winning note. Syracuse will face Minnesota in the Pinstripe Bowl, SU’s third appearance in that bowl. The Orange won in 2010 and 2012, and Adelson believes they will take home a third trophy.
“I’m going to with Syracuse to put a cherry on top of a good season,” Adelson said.
I also chatted with Adelson about the coaching carousel around the ACC, other interesting names to enter the transfer portal, and also how the ACC matches up against other conferences in bowl season.
You can listen to our whole conversation by following “The Juice on the Cuse Podcast,” a Syracuse Orange podcast, by subscribing to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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