Penalties kept BC in the game, but those penalties would not be enough to hand the Orange a loss. It was as ugly a game as you could imagine, but SU came out on top and now heads into the bye week 4-4.

Think about that, Syracuse has matched its win total from last year through just 8 games this year. And with four, albeit tough, games left on the schedule, making a bowl game in year one of the Dino Babers era is not out of the question. Especially when you factor in the sheer number of bowl games and the possibility of making one with 5 wins.

On the field, Eric Dungey once again played well accounting for 488 of Syracuse’s 532 yards. And while it’s not a negative that Dungey can be so effective, it does show that the Orange doesn’t have a running game outside of what Dungey can do on his feet.

Amba Etta-Tawo went over 100 yards receiving after two weeks of down performances. He’s got 6 games over 100 yards receiving this season. Amba topped 1000 yards for the season, and will almost certainly break the all time receiving yardage record held by Marvin Harrison.

Offensive records will fall and continue to fall throughout the season. That’s what we expected with the new offense, and that is what we are seeing.

While there were times it sputtered, the passing offense was fantastic overall today. Two receivers had over 100 yards, Steve Ishmael to go along with Amba. Add in Brisly Estime with 5 catches for 93 yards, and Erv Philips with 7 catches for 78 yards and two total touchdowns and you’ve got an offense that puts together a strong performance.

It was particularly good to see Steve Ishmael put together his best performance of the season. Coming into the year, many (myself included) thought Ishmael was a legit number 1 receiver who has serious NFL talent. After a slow start to the year, and being overshadowed by Amba Etta-Tawo’s record setting start, Ishmael has really come alive the last four weeks. But it was capped off with his best game so far this week, when Ishmael caught 8 passes for 108 yards and his first touchdown of the year. And of those 8 catches, two of them showed the potential and promise we thought was there before the season, a 40 yard catch down the sideline early, and his touchdown catch where Ishmael high-pointed a ball and had to get a foot down in bounds before slamming out of bounds. 

The defense once again played well, allowing just a pair of field goals and a touchdown on what was the only defensive lapse of the game. It made a timely play when Paris Bennett intercepted a pass near the goal line, and it kept the Orange in the game, while the offense struggled with penalties.

Now for the first time in the Dino Babers Era, the Orange has won back-to-back games, and now heads to the bye week on a high note. The bye comes at a good time for the Orange, with plenty still to work on after two wins, but also it gives the team a chance to get healthy for what is going to be a tough stretch run against Clemson, NC State, Florida State and Pitt. And while the end of the year will be a tough road, there is the potential of a bowl game to dangle in front of this team. Syracuse is in a good place in year one of the Dino Babers Era.