Outside the Syracuse locker room Saturday, a sense of excitement encircled members of the SU football team. Bro hugs were issued. Smiles were flashed. Syracuse was off to its best start since 2003.

And that’s a legitimate reason to be excited, and even confident. At times this season, SU has played very well. The 3-1 start is not a fluke. The record symbolizes something big. Something fans and players haven’t seen at SU in quite some time.

But does the record really tell us anything about this squad? The Orange was supposed to play well against Akron, Maine and Colgate. Nobody is surprised the Orange easily handled three middling teams from outside a BCS conference. That’s not a shocker.

Despite three wins by an average margin of more than 28 points per game, the Orange didn’t necessarily dominate each of those three opponents for four consecutive quarters. Against the one BCS conference team it did play, SU got walloped.

Because of that, we still know very little about this team’s chances once SU’s Big East slate begins against South Florida in Tampa, following the current bye week. Will this team collect double-digit penalties against Big East teams, as it did against Maine? Will this defense allow its conference opponents to gouge them for 230 yards on the ground, as Colgate did? If three relative cupcakes can exploit the Orange at times, what will happen in conference? Four weeks into the season, these are the questions that can still legitimately be asked.

Doug Marrone acknowledged as much Saturday. He’ll be the first to tell you he’s not content with where his team is, despite its record.

‘We just have to get better technically,’ Marrone said. ‘More sound, making tackles, not missing tackles, finishing blocks on the offensive line. We’re looking at it more from a fundamental standpoint. Do we have the scheme to play well the rest of the year? Absolutely. … (But) from a technical standpoint, we need to get better.’

This isn’t something that’s oblivious to the Syracuse players. Four games in, SU’s players haven’t once professed to have played a perfect game. They haven’t once said they’re completely content with where they are as a team.

Sure, SU has taken care of the three inferior teams on its schedule. At times, the Orange looked really impressive, too. But it doesn’t say whether or not the Orange can compete with the big boys in the Big East. As linebacker Marquis Spruill said Saturday, ‘South Florida isn’t Colgate.’

And because of that, we really don’t know whether or not this team is legit. After watching Syracuse struggle during the first half against Maine and allowing the Colgate offense to consistently move the ball Saturday, it’s difficult to know what to think. Though Syracuse should be positive heading into Big East play following its bye week, there are still too many question marks about this team to be overly optimistic.

It’s tough to take the Akron game seriously, despite the fact that it was arguably SU’s most complete performance of the season because of how Akron has struggled since. Beating the Zips 29-3 doesn’t look so impressive all of sudden now that Akron has fallen to 0-4, including a 38-37 overtime loss to Gardner Webb of the FCS.

‘They have a tough task ahead of themselves, seeing a little bit of different schemes than they saw during the week,’ Marrone said of his players and staff. ‘If we don’t continue to get better, then we’re going to struggle. If we continue to get better, we’ll be fine.’

Heading into the bye week, Marrone’s statement really sums up the state of this team. If Syracuse does not improve, it will struggle against tougher, faster, more skilled opponents. The last time SU started 3-1, it lost its next game, 51-7, to Virginia Tech, before finishing the season just 6-6. If the Orange wants to see a different fate, it must take these next two weeks and improve.

Unfortunately, because of the quality of opponents SU has beaten, we won’t know exactly how good this team is, or can be, until its trip to Tampa.

Which makes this upcoming matchup with USF all the more intriguing. It should be our first real glimpse into whether or not all the optimism after a 3-1 start is warranted.

Andrew L. John is the sports editor at The Daily Orange, where his column appears occasionally. He can be reached at aljohn@syr.edu.

Published on September 26, 2010 at 12:00 pm