Syracuse National Contender in '08

After a trying 2-10 season in 2007, Syracuse is striving for perfection. Is 2008 the charm? Perhaps Greg Robinson can achieve a perfect 0-12 season in his forth year as head coach. It’s GRob’s Time: four years, his recruits, his offense, his defense, his special teams, his hand-pick staffed.

Syracuse made great strides last year under Robinson. Fan support was incredible. Syracuse was ranked 80th in the nation last year in attendance (percent stadium capacity – 70.65%). But there is room for improvement. Robinson is requesting that Syracuse fans give away their tickets to opponent fans or simply stay home. This will make his job much easier to do.

There is little room for improvement on offense. In rushing offense, Syracuse was 118th of 119 teams. In total offense, Syracuse was 114th. No doubt, Syracuse is no slouch – as they were trying to beat out a tough Notre Lame team that claimed the 119th spot. But Syracuse showed consistency across the board in offense, as they were 116th in scoring offense and they gave Notre Lame a run for their money in sacks allowed, placing 118th to Notre Lame’s 119th, losing to Notre Lame by only four sacks.

Robinson has more work to do on defense than offense to be perfect. Last year, the Orange was 108th in rushing defense and 102nd in pass defense. This combines for 111th for total defense, just slipping the Orange in the bottom 10 in football. Can GRob find the magic to field a team that actually looks like a football team while going 0-12? Anyone can let another team score on them, but it is much harder to look like you playing football while letting them score on you. It is obvious that Robinson has some pride left. In spring practice Robinson was constantly overheard telling players to tie their shoelaces. Apparently, tripping over yourself isn’t in Robinson’s play book.

There is no doubt the Syracuse can be the national contender in ’08, but it really is a matter of focus. Football analysts are nearly unanimous in the opinion that if Robinson stares at his Super Bowl rings long enough – really focuses on the past – that Syracuse has a chance. If that fails, perhaps Robinson can think about all of the bowl victories he has brought Syracuse. The entire Orange Nation can do that latter and on their death bed they will receive total consciousness.