What Would Make 2014 Successful for Syracuse Football? | Syracusefan.com

What Would Make 2014 Successful for Syracuse Football?

assuming a bowl win in every scenario...

9-4 doing cartwheels
8-5 proud but a little depressed
7-6 i would expect to have witnessed a different # taking snaps

anything less than that is an absolute disgrace.
 
If we go to another bowl, it's a success, then the bar goes up a notch in 2015.
 
Nothing less than 8-4 and a bowl win.
 
Too early for the season prediction thread?
 
8 win regular season.

Bowl game APPEARANCE, win or lose.

Please don't misunderstand: winning bowls is absolutely great, and a nice PR boon to the program. But losing in a bowl to a quality opponent won't constitute 2014 not being a "success" per the OP's question. Especially if we have a good season en route to getting there.

For me, the key is getting to 8 wins. With the offensive talent we have returning, that would show that the program is taking the next step.
 
RF2044 said:
8 win regular season.

Bowl game APPEARANCE, win or lose.

Please don't misunderstand: winning bowls is absolutely great, and a nice PR boon to the program. But losing in a bowl to a quality opponent won't constitute 2014 not being a "success" per the OP's question. Especially if we have a good season en route to getting there.

For me, the key is getting to 8 wins. With the offensive talent we have returning, that would show that the program is taking the next step.
Expand...
I think we're still a little bit shakier than recent records and bowls would suggest. I mean, we were basically one play away from sitting at home with a questionable quarterback situation. We made plays at the end of the season. That matters, but it's not like we cruised in to the end of the year. That struggle matters too.

I think we could be a much better team, and still win only 6 regular season games. I know I've said it seasons before, but I won't actually believe we're taking all the steps forward as a program we need to until I see the offense improve, a lot.
 
OttoinGrotto said:
I think we're still a little bit shakier than recent records and bowls would suggest. I mean, we were basically one play away from sitting at home with a questionable quarterback situation. We made plays at the end of the season. That matters, but it's not like we cruised in to the end of the year. That struggle matters too. I think we could be a much better team, and still win only 6 regular season games. I know I've said it seasons before, but I won't actually believe we're taking all the steps forward as a program we need to until I see the offense improve, a lot.
Expand...

I get that point of view, but, fairly or not, I'm over it.

We're 6 years post-Robinson. Time to evaluate success on wins, not some vague sense of improvement.

I'm with those who say 8 wins. At our stage, a "successful" season has to first involve winning more games than the year before.
 
OttoinGrotto said:
I think we're still a little bit shakier than recent records and bowls would suggest. I mean, we were basically one play away from sitting at home with a questionable quarterback situation. We made plays at the end of the season. That matters, but it's not like we cruised in to the end of the year. That struggle matters too. I think we could be a much better team, and still win only 6 regular season games. I know I've said it seasons before, but I won't actually believe we're taking all the steps forward as a program we need to until I see the offense improve, a lot.
Expand...
I agree. Even if they win 8 some of what I consider a good season will depend on who they beat. I mean if they lose to Nd, fsu, Clemson and ville by a combined score of 200-0 is that season v special. To turn the corner SU needs to knock Down and knock out a heavyweight or 2.
 
AZOrange said:
I agree. Even if they win 8 some of what I consider a good season will depend on who they beat. I mean if they lose to Nd, fsu, Clemson and ville by a combined score of 200-0 is that season v special??? To turn the corner SU needs to knock Down and knock out a heavyweight or 2.
Expand...
 
OttoinGrotto said:
I think we're still a little bit shakier than recent records and bowls would suggest. I mean, we were basically one play away from sitting at home with a questionable quarterback situation. We made plays at the end of the season. That matters, but it's not like we cruised in to the end of the year. That struggle matters too.

I think we could be a much better team, and still win only 6 regular season games. I know I've said it seasons before, but I won't actually believe we're taking all the steps forward as a program we need to until I see the offense improve, a lot.
Expand...

True, to some extent. We got to bowls in the Marrone era by shortening games to mitigate talent differential. The first time around, we won some games early but then had to hang on by the skin of our teeth to make it. In 2012, we got out of the gate horribly and bowl eligibility was no guarantee until we won late in the season @ Missouri. Last year, we suffered a couple of losses to start the season, and really struggled with the offensive consistency for a lengthy stretch, but we won all of the 50-50 games except for one [Pitt], and finished strong.

Here's where my optimism stems from: I think Hunt is pretty good, and will be not only much more consistent, but also a difference maker for us this year. By my count, we return 8 starters on offense, including 4 OL. Macky was great, but all three starters we lost are replaceable. Instead of struggling out of the gate to find our offensive concept / identity, we're going to come out strong out of the gate. Yes, we have some defensive question marks [most of which IMO are depth-based], but I think we'll be better defensively than many expect as our younger players gain experience.

This year, we've got a brutal stretch after the first third. But I look at the attrition losses Louisville suffered, Notre Dame suffered, Pitt suffered, BC suffered, etc. and I think--why the hell not? We can certainly be competitive on paper with any of them [again, my opinion only].

My expectation is that the offense is going to carry the defense in the early portion of the schedule until they get their sea legs. And I have faith in the defensive coaches we have--I believe that we have the personnel to field a defense that can be a unit of strength. If Hunt is as good as I think he is, then getting to 8 regular season wins--even with the tough stretch in the middle--is easily attainable.

If he isn't--if he's the guy who we saw after the Tulane game who struggled to complete 40% of his passes and couldn't produce scoring drives--then we're going to struggle to be bowl eligible.

My bet is on the former.
 
1) HC, OC and Offense that were ready to go the first game of the season.
2) Not soundly beaten by the end of the 1st quarter or half in any game.
3) Kicking game was not a liability.
4) A passing game that stretched the defense.
5) A secondary that played to its potential.
6) A bowl appearance.

Season Bonus: Getting the biggest win the state of NJ sees all year.
 
minimum 8 regular season wins. anything else would be a disappointment. it wouldn't be devastating if we got 7, but we need to start making a statement. we can't start hovering too much around mediocrity. 8 wins and a good bowl is very much within reason.

i would also like to see an upset. either FSU, Clemson, or ND. Obviously the first 2 are pretty unlikely, but a win against ND where we will most likely be a td or so dog would be a good statement game. along with consistently producing winning seasons we need to start adding marquee wins.
 
javadoc said:
I think we're going to fade toward the end of the year, due to lack of depth on the OL. A serious injury there could cripple us, IMO.

I think 7-5 regular season is good, with a scrappy bowl win against a P5 opponent. And if we are going to fade late, we have to beat the Fighting Frenchmen.
Expand...


Here's who I think the OL rotation looks like:

LT Hickey
LG Trudo
C Miller
RG Robinson or Foy
RT Foy or Lasker

Reserves:

OT Lasker [or Foy]
G Palmer

Unproven Commodities:
OG Alex Hayes
OT Jon Burton
OT Denzel Ward
C/G Jason Emerich

We should have 7 who play every game, based upon who played last year. The real question is whether 1 or 2 of the unknowns play their way into PT, giving us a more viable 8 or 9 player rotation. Will be interesting to see how it unfolds. For the record, I'd prefer to see a prospect like Ward redshirt, to maximize his potential as a long term team asset [especially with Hickey and Lasker both capable of playing LT].

At the end of the day, we need to cross our fingers and hope that we avoid injuries on the OL. But I think that with several players capable of playing multiple positions, we might have a better rotation than you might think. We could get by with 8; 9 would be better.
 
If the interior defensive line and DB's play well the sky is the limit. Place kicking worries me as well. If those areas are cleaned up and depending on breaks/refs/injuries anywhere from 4 wins to 11. Successful to me would be 9+ wins and a dome with 44k or more for the average attendance. I'd be happy with an 8-5 or even 7-6 depending on how it happened. I'd like a 3-1 start and love a 4-0.
 
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