Syracuse (3-4, 1-2 Atlantic Coast) picked up its biggest win of the season on Saturday against Virginia Tech (4-2, 1-2). The Orange scored 14 unanswered points to seal the victory, 31-17, and fans stormed the field after game.

Beat writers Tomer Langer, Chris Libonati and Jon Mettus discuss the ramifications of the contest.

1. What does Syracuse’s win over Virginia Tech mean?

Tomer Langer: It means a lot for Dino Babers. As he was saying postgame, every new head coach really needs that signature win so that everyone — players, fans, the media — can start seeing tangible evidence of what the coach has been preaching. That came for Babers after just seven games in a season where multiple veteran players were lost — Jason Emerich, Omari Palmer, Antwan Cordy — to injuries for the season. That’s pretty impressive.

Chris Libonati: Beating Virginia Tech means a few things. The biggest is that (at least in the short term), it justifies hiring Dino Babers. The second is that Syracuse has proven itself to be solid enough to make a bowl game. It’ll need to at least beat Boston College and North Carolina State, but finding another win could prove tough. If it wants to guarantee a bowl berth, Pittsburgh seems like the next candidate, but Florida State didn’t look good in its 17-6 home win over Wake Forest.

Jon Mettus: Beating Virginia Tech means anything can happen in the season now. Bowl game? Who knows? Maybe. If SU can beat No. 17 VT then winning three games out of matchups with Boston College, Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina State and Pittsburgh is not out of the question. It’ll still be tough to get to a bowl game, but to me, this win validates the season. It’s the first piece of proof that Dino Babers might be able to turn this struggling program around.

2. Was storming the field warranted?

T.L.: From a “moment” perspective? Sure, why not. Fans have really been given close to nothing to cheer for the past two years. Even the wins SU had were blah and boring, and against really weak opponents (Central Michigan and Wake Forest twice, two different FCS teams). And this was a really exciting game against a really staunch defense in which the often-hyped about Syracuse offense just took the Hokies to town, so that’s fine too. But (cue the fun police), I personally am just vehemently against the concept of rushing the field because of all the injury concerns it poses. Babers always talks about how he and his assistants try to be calculated in their decisions, like when they decide when and whether to go for it on fourth down. Well, from a risk-reward perspective, the several minutes of the cool moment don’t outweigh the potential risks in my mind.

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C.L.: When done safely, storming the field is awesome. I think it’s justified. Syracuse has flat out stunk for most of the last 15 years. This was an “extreme” case because it was the first time in four years that SU beat a ranked team. And even if it wasn’t totally justified, let kids have fun. That’s what this is all about, right? If athletes can’t get paid, they can at least get love from the fans.

J.M.: When fans — mostly students at first — started streaming onto the field, there was a weird almost silence in the Carrier Dome. There wasn’t much cheering and I honestly didn’t know what to think. I don’t think it was warranted. Virginia Tech wasn’t an undefeated No. 1. It was one of the biggest wins for Syracuse football in recent memory, but storming the field should be saved for more extreme circumstances. Dino Babers liked it, though, and so did the players. So what do I know?

3. What’s Syracuse’s record the rest of the way out?

T.L.: That’s really tough to say, and that’s partially because none of us picked the winner of this past game right and we’ve seen now that SU can compete and win in a big game. The only game left on the schedule that I’d be absolutely stunned if SU won was on the road at Clemson. Every other game I really think the argument can be made that SU could compete and win. Then again, the argument could be made that it might put up stinkers like it did against South Florida and Notre Dame. Realistically, I’d say either 2-3 or 3-2, and I’d lean ever so slightly to 2-3.

C.L.: 2-3. I think Syracuse beats Boston College and North Carolina State, but the other three games should be tough. The Orange may be able to take on Florida State, especially at home. Clemson on the road would be a difficult task even if Syracuse was better. Pittsburgh seems like another winnable game for SU, but it’ll be interesting how Pittsburgh in late November is weather-wise. On top of that, SU would have to have another near-perfect game to beat the majority of its remaining opponents.

J.M.: 1-4. Here’s my disclaimer: This is hard to predict considering the tough schedule Syracuse has going forward and a certain level of uncertainty over which Orange team will show up. The Virginia Tech game was near perfect in every phase of the game, except field goals. All of the other games didn’t go so well. The transition period is not over and there are still growing pains left. But don’t forget about this VT win when the Orange loses its last four games of the season.

Published on October 16, 2016 at 10:35 pm