BVille44
All Conference
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2015
- Messages
- 2,245
- Like
- 7,128
Babers, Syracuse face stark reality
Syracuse parted ways with coach Dino Babers on Sunday after the Orange fell to Georgia Tech 31-22. Babers ends his eight-year tenure with the Orange with an ACC record of 20-45 (41-55 overall) and just two bowl bids. Given those numbers, the decision is hardly a surprise.
But dig a little deeper into the situation at Syracuse, and Babers' dismissal signals a larger set of problems -- problems that echo the uphill battle so many low-end Power 5 teams will face moving forward in the new era of college football.
Babers was 12-12 in the past two seasons, which is actually better than Miami's Mario Cristobal or Iowa State's Matt Campbell, and the same as Houston's Dana Holgorsen and Pitt's Pat Narduzzi since the start of 2022.
But the fan base had soured on Babers after Syracuse wasted back-to-back strong starts -- 6-0 in 2022, 4-0 this year -- and athletic director John Wildhack opted for a change.
But look at the cards Babers was dealt: The loss to Georgia Tech came with a converted tight end playing quarterback for the second straight week. It came in a season in which Babers replaced both coordinators after the incumbents left in lateral moves. Babers recruited well enough to have two players from last year's team drafted and another make an NFL roster. Indeed, four others left for different Power 5 programs -- the portal offering access to better NIL opportunities at bigger schools.
Six weeks ago, Babers was asked about Syracuse's depth amid rising injury attrition, and he offered a blunt answer.
"It's the same old thing: Depth is gone," Babers said. "Our depth is in the transfer portal. You know how many guys we lost. You know what schools they play at. Schools like us, we're not going to have a lot of depth because it gets bought away." More than a few Syracuse fans and critics suggested this was an easy excuse for another downward spiral, but Babers wasn't wrong. This is life on the fringes of big-time college football today. Winning at a place like Syracuse has been hard for a long time, but Babers proved in 2018 that, with the right QB and a handful of diamonds in the rough, it was possible. He led Syracuse to a 10-win season and a No. 15 ranking in the final AP poll -- two things that hadn't happened in Central New York in 17 years.
But then COVID hit (and hit Syracuse harder than almost any team in the country), the portal opened, NIL became the law of the land and, yes, a hefty fraction of Babers' best talent walked out the door.
That's not to say Babers didn't make mistakes. Witness Syracuse's second-half collapse against Clemson last year or the woeful performance against Virginia Tech last month coming off an open date. There's simply no room for error when the margins are so thin.
Perhaps the next coach will win more than 12 games in two years. It's certainly possible. But the problems at Syracuse run deep, and some of them simply can't be addressed by hiring a new coach or funneling more money into the football program. -- David M. Hale
Syracuse parted ways with coach Dino Babers on Sunday after the Orange fell to Georgia Tech 31-22. Babers ends his eight-year tenure with the Orange with an ACC record of 20-45 (41-55 overall) and just two bowl bids. Given those numbers, the decision is hardly a surprise.
But dig a little deeper into the situation at Syracuse, and Babers' dismissal signals a larger set of problems -- problems that echo the uphill battle so many low-end Power 5 teams will face moving forward in the new era of college football.
Babers was 12-12 in the past two seasons, which is actually better than Miami's Mario Cristobal or Iowa State's Matt Campbell, and the same as Houston's Dana Holgorsen and Pitt's Pat Narduzzi since the start of 2022.
But the fan base had soured on Babers after Syracuse wasted back-to-back strong starts -- 6-0 in 2022, 4-0 this year -- and athletic director John Wildhack opted for a change.
But look at the cards Babers was dealt: The loss to Georgia Tech came with a converted tight end playing quarterback for the second straight week. It came in a season in which Babers replaced both coordinators after the incumbents left in lateral moves. Babers recruited well enough to have two players from last year's team drafted and another make an NFL roster. Indeed, four others left for different Power 5 programs -- the portal offering access to better NIL opportunities at bigger schools.
Six weeks ago, Babers was asked about Syracuse's depth amid rising injury attrition, and he offered a blunt answer.
"It's the same old thing: Depth is gone," Babers said. "Our depth is in the transfer portal. You know how many guys we lost. You know what schools they play at. Schools like us, we're not going to have a lot of depth because it gets bought away." More than a few Syracuse fans and critics suggested this was an easy excuse for another downward spiral, but Babers wasn't wrong. This is life on the fringes of big-time college football today. Winning at a place like Syracuse has been hard for a long time, but Babers proved in 2018 that, with the right QB and a handful of diamonds in the rough, it was possible. He led Syracuse to a 10-win season and a No. 15 ranking in the final AP poll -- two things that hadn't happened in Central New York in 17 years.
But then COVID hit (and hit Syracuse harder than almost any team in the country), the portal opened, NIL became the law of the land and, yes, a hefty fraction of Babers' best talent walked out the door.
That's not to say Babers didn't make mistakes. Witness Syracuse's second-half collapse against Clemson last year or the woeful performance against Virginia Tech last month coming off an open date. There's simply no room for error when the margins are so thin.
Perhaps the next coach will win more than 12 games in two years. It's certainly possible. But the problems at Syracuse run deep, and some of them simply can't be addressed by hiring a new coach or funneling more money into the football program. -- David M. Hale
