Two weeks ago, there was an empty feeling surrounding the Syracuse football team. After an uninspiring effort on the road in Wake Forest, the Orange fell to 2-4. It was a demoralizing loss. But what a difference two games make.

On the strength of Eric Dungey’s 488 total yards (434 passing and 54 rushing), Syracuse improved to the .500 mark with a win over Boston College heading into the bye week. With four games left, this team is knocking on the door of a bowl game.

This wasn’t the easiest game to watch, as both teams made a bevy of mistakes. For Syracuse, the problem was mostly discipline, or lack thereof, with 16 penalties resulting in 135 yards for the Eagles.

“I think it was an exciting football game,” Dino Babers said following the game.

The road isn’t easy going forward. With Clemson, Florida State, N.C. State and Pittsburgh on tap following the bye, the Orange will need to clean their act up if they have aspirations of playing another game in addition to those mentioned.

Babers has talked about the idea of being consistently good and not occasionally great. Last week against No. 17 Virginia Tech? That was a great performance in every aspect. A few more of those and this will probably go down as one of the more memorable seasons in recent memory.

Syracuse has now matched its win total from all of last year and there is tangible evidence that there’s a positive trajectory. There seems to finally be a team identity. We know there will be a ton of offensive plays, as this team looks to maximize every opportunity to put up points in bunches. As long as Dungey takes care of the ball and avoids big hits, that side of the ball will be dynamic.

As for the defense, there is still much to be desired of course. But we’ll see some aggressiveness from this group that will attempt to always stay on the attack mode – hunting for turnovers non-scoring drives.

If you’re an Orange fan, it’s an excellent time to be alive. Sure, the lost to the Demon Deacons was incredibly deflating, but couldn’t have realistically envisioned anything better than a 4-4 record after eight games. That cake aroma is starting to smell really good, eh?