The Syracuse Orange Have A Golden Opportunity
Rich Barnes, USATSI

Syracuse University’s football program has been mired in irrelevance. It can win back some fans with a victory over the Louisville Cardinals.

As cliché as it sounds, the Syracuse University football program could turn the corner by capitalizing on an opportunity.

Yes, an opportunity.

SU has received plenty of those over the years. The problem is that the program is mired in a state of irrelevance because it has squandered a plethora of chances.

Three seasons ago, the Orange welcomed the Clemson Tigers to the Carrier Dome for their first-ever ACC matchup. They lost. Two seasons ago, SU started off the season 3-0 and had a date with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. They lost. Last season, unbeaten ‘Cuse hosted LSU. They lost.

It’s been a decade and a half since the Orange were last ranked and four seasons since the squad last beat a ranked team.

For those reasons, Orange fans have determined that the football program isn’t worth investing in. Attendance figures are paltry, and there’s no excitement throughout campus.

SU could change that all with a win on Friday night. While Dino Barbers’ flawed squad shouldn’t be expected to knock off the highly-touted Cardinals, it certainly would change the status quo if they could find a way to pull out with a W.

The future of the football program is hanging in the balance.

The Orange (1-0) take on the thirteenth ranked Louisville Cardinals (1-0) tonight at 8:00 PM ET on ESPN2.

H/T: Syracuse.com

Justin Weiss is a staff editor at Elite Sports New York, where he covers the New York Islanders and Brooklyn Cyclones. In 2016, he received a Quill Award for Freelance Journalism. He has written for the Long Island Herald, FanSided and YardBarker.