Five football games remain for the (Jekyll, hot and half-full / Hyde, cold and half-empty) Syracuse football team, but I’m already convinced: The Orangemen are going (somewhere special / nowhere fast).

Just look at their (four wins / three losses) so far this year, and it’s easy to envision the 2003 season fast becoming (a heartwarming success story / uglier than the Honda Element).

Senior quarterback R.J. Anderson, the main (leader / problem) on this team, has shown all season his great (arm / ability to deflect blame). Then there’s once-in-a-generation (talent / screw-up) wideout Johnnie Morant, who (tantalizes / angers) fans with his flashes of (greatness / sedateness). Morant averages 18.2 yards a catch – a testament to his (explosiveness / habit of dropping every short pass that comes his way).

Put all that (talent / ineptitude) together and it’s no wonder that the Orangemen are still in prime position for (a surprise bowl run / another collapse). SU has its next game against Temple in two weeks, and the Carrier Dome, known (famously / wrongly) for its raucous environment, figures to attract (a sellout / a handful of players’ parents and relatives).

See, few things are more (exciting / excruciating) to watch than (back-and-forth / inconsistent) football. In its last four games, Syracuse has been on the (winning / losing) side of two blowouts. Just goes to show you that SU (still has some of its old gridiron tradition / has become Rutgers with cooler colors).

The Orangemen deserve, in their honor, (a strong showing of public support / a reenactment of the Ten Plagues). Undeniably, every team has its blemishes, but SU head coach Paul Pasqualoni has tried to fix them by (practicing endlessly / blowing on the old Nintendo cartridges in his basement).

That explains why, against (Boston College / Virginia Tech), Syracuse gave its season an unexpected twist by looking (like worldbeaters / flatter than a relief map of Kansas). With such a (poetic / pathetic) performance, it’s no wonder that fans are already (forgetting about / shaking with anticipation for) the upcoming basketball season.

The remainder of SU’s football season will no doubt offer plenty of reasons for (celebration / drinking in sorrow). Midway through November, the Orangemen travel to Miami for a (much-needed test against a top opponent / public flogging). Following that is a home contest with West Virginia, where, in the case of a (win / loss), the Carrier Dome constituency can copy its Mountaineer brethren and engage in (mass rioting and looting / mass rioting and looting).

In truth, there’s plenty of reason for (optimism / pessimism). The Orangemen aren’t that far from (ruling / leaving) their conference. Running back Walter Reyes (is / was) a Heisman candidate. And their pass defense has (improved mightily / let up enough yards to cover the Oregon Trail).

Anyone with (some hope / a bloodstream of hallucinogens) can still picture a top-flight bowl appearance for this squad. It’s hard, in fact, to think of one good reason why Syracuse shouldn’t (win out / drop its football program). Down the stretch, the team will rely on (weapons / liabilities) like Morant and tight end Joe Donnelly. Even the (confident / stubborn) Anderson will likely revert to his (2001 / 2002) form by playing with (great poise / the look of someone wearing a blindfold) and then say, in postgame interviews, (‘I played well’ / ‘I played well’).

The defense also deserves some (props / scrutiny). Linebacker Rich Scanlon ranks 18th in the nation in tackles, largely because he (never gives up on a play / has the Dome statistician attached by the neck to an electroshock device). Anchored by Scanlon and a veteran defensive line, SU’s defense has surrendered just 12 fourth-quarter points all season – evidence that (the defense gets better as the game goes on / it’s easy to stop third-string offenses in garbage time).

It’s undeniable, really – as clear as (night / day). An SU win in its next game (will start its reign in the Carrier Dome / will be as likely as rain in the Carrier Dome). If you think otherwise, you’re missing (half / half) of the story.

Chico Harlan is a staff writer for The Daily Orange, where his columns appear each Tuesday. E-mail him at apharlan@syr.edu.

Published on October 27, 2003 at 12:00 pm