Despite win at UC, Syracuse just outside Top 25 in latest poll
Only a week after Syracuse found itself among those in the ‘others receiving votes’ just outside the AP Top 25 poll, the Orange reappeared just outside the new poll Sunday. Last week, SU received eight votes. This week, it got 22. The only other team outside the poll with more votes than the Orange is Hawaii with 50 votes.
‘It is great for the people,’ Syracuse head coach Doug Marrone said Monday at his weekly press conference. ‘It is about a school that hasn’t done well in a period of time now and a point where we see a level of awareness and happiness, there are smiles on our face and people are talking.’
Though not quite in the Top 25, Syracuse (6-2, 3-1 Big East) remains the highest-ranked Big East team. The Orange is currently second in the conference, behind Pittsburgh (5-3, 3-0).
After collecting its fifth victory in its last six games, the Orange is surging. For the first time since 2004, SU has received votes in the Top 25 and won three of its first four conference games. The last time SU was inside the Top 25 was 2001.
Marrone said Monday that he doesn’t even pay attention to the rankings and that he doesn’t talk about them with his team. But Marrone acknowledged that the attention SU has received in recent weeks is good for the program and good for those who care about the program.
‘It is about this community, the lettermen, the alumni, the faculty, the people associated with the program that there is a sense of pride in what we’re doing,’ Marrone said. ‘You can be proud of everything that we do. … That is how I look at it, and that is what it is about.’
Syracuse defense ranks No. 13 nationally
After holding Cincinnati to just seven points Saturday, SU entered the week with the No. 13 defense in the country. Its scoring defense (17.5 points per game) is its best since 2001, and its total defense (298.5 yards per game) is its best since 1997.
‘When our defense plays well, we usually have success as a team,’ running back Antwon Bailey said Wednesday. ‘They take the pressure off of us and allow us to not force things offensively.’
As the defense goes, so goes SU. The defense has paved the way for SU’s 6-2 start this season. In its six wins, SU has allowed just 10 points per game. In its two losses this season, the Orange defense struggled, allowing 43 points per game.
But recently, the Orange defense has played as well as it has in recent memory. In each of its last two wins, the Orange has not allowed a single offensive point in the second half.
‘We have experience on that side of the ball, good leadership on that side of the ball,’ Marrone said. ‘We have excellent coaching, starting with (defensive coordinator) Coach (Scott) Shafer. Players are playing at an extremely high level right now. There is an urge in them to be successful. They have a confidence about them, and they know how to work. They know it’s not easy to perform on a Saturday.’
Orange completes 3-1 October stretch
As the season began back on Sept. 4, it appeared as if the toughest part of SU’s schedule would come during the month of October. The string of South Florida-Pittsburgh-West Virginia-Cincinnati appeared to be the gauntlet that would determine the success of the season. It appeared to be a make-or-break stretch.
But with its 31-7 victory at Cincinnati Saturday, Syracuse completed its most successful October in nine years. With road wins against South Florida, West Virginia and UC, the Orange also won three conference road games in a single month for the first time since 2001. The last time the Orange finished 3-1 or better during the month was that same year, when it won all four games in October.
Since then, SU had been just 6-22 during the month of October prior to this season.
Still, Marrone isn’t sitting content with the accomplishment. He doesn’t dwell on what has been accomplished in just his second year at SU.
‘I can’t afford to do that,’ Marrone said. ‘We haven’t really accomplished anything. Good job, we’re 6-2, but not 8-0. We need to keep our nose down because we have a lot of work ahead of us. It becomes more and more difficult each day.’
