Football
Syracuse Orange rout Central Michigan Chippewas, improve to 2-0
Saturday afternoon, the Syracuse team that showed up at Central Michigan was a lot more pleasing to the eye than the one who barely escaped FCS foe Villanova in their opener, as the Orange (2-0) cruised to a 40-3 road win. The SU defense set the tone in the game, bouncing back from allowing the Chippewas (2-1) to start the game with a field goal to pitch a shutout over the final 52:43.
Why eight wins still realistic possibility for Syracuse football
Most importantly, though, Syracuse now understands that they have to play their best every time out. After such a graphic example of what happens when they are not at their best, there is no doubt the Orange are aware of their situation. While they did escape with a win in their opener, they know they were fortunate to do so and simply need to be better to avoid close calls like that again.
Orange Watch: Syracuse win over Villanova makes case for pre-season matchup
The scheduling discrepancies across the FBS college football landscape are the one element that at times makes it hard to determine why one team should be ranked higher than another, and is likely to be the cause of much irritation of the Power 5 conference champion(s) that doesn’t make this season’s initial College Football Playoff semi-final on New Year’s Day.