Syracuse Football: The Universe Gives You What You Ask For (So You Better Be Specific)

God. The Universe. The Unmoved Mover. The Football Gods. Flying Spaghetti Monster. Jim Boeheim.

Whatever you want to call the force that holds sway over our lives, you should know that, when it moves, it moves to your will. Ask and ye shall receive.

The trick is, you have to be very specific when you ask for something. Otherwise, you might not get what you really wanted.

Take what's going with Syracuse Orange football. Many folks walked away from the Louisville debacle asking for two things...

1. For George McDonald to be relieved of his offensive coordinator duties.

2. For Terrel Hunt to be relieved of his starting quarterback status.

Normally, I'd chalk both up to the demands of a fickle sports fanbase. Do you know how many times people asked for the head of Doug Marrone while he was here? How many times I heard how Nate Hackett's offense would never amount to anything? That Ryan Nassib should be benched for Charley Loeb?

So I'm always hesitant to listen to mid-season demands that call for drastic change.

In this case, however, I was on board with that first one. And when rumblings stirred over the weekend, I was relieved. Relieved that Coach Shafer was able to set aside loyalties and friendships for the job at hand.

As for Terrel, I can't say I'm in agreement. Yes, he's been rough. But he's also been saddled with a terrible offensive game plan and an offense riddled with injuries. Those two things don't excuse high passes and lack of timeout awareness, but, they don't help.

Anyway, those who asked for both No. 1 and No. 2 got what they asked for on Monday. McDonald has been demoted and replaced as offensive coordinate by Tim Lester. Hunt will be sidelined for 4-6 weeks with a broken leg.

You prayed to The Universe and The Universe gave you what you asked for.

But...were you specific? Did you really think through what you were asking for? Are you so sure your prayers have actually been answered?

The changes come at the worst possible time during the season...with five days before the defending National Champion and No. 1 team in the nation, the Florida State Seminoles, come to town. That task was almighty beforehand, now Syracuse must attempt it with a brand new OC and a quarterback making his first-ever start.

Plus, when you ask for change, did you remember to ask for that change to result in something positive? Did you remember to ask The Universe that it replace George McDonald with a better offensive coordinator and better offensive game plan? Did you remember to ask The Universe to replace Terrel Hunt with a better quarterback?

You didn't, did you? You didn't think that far ahead. You went at it from an emotional place, which means you didn't consider what comes next.

Because what comes next might not be any better. It might be worse. Given what you've seen from Austin Wilson so far, do you have reason to believe otherwise? Do you have any actual reason to believe A.J. Long can do what Terrel Hunt couldn't? And what happens once we've cycled through Wilson, Long and Mitch Kimble? Who do we prop up then?

"You don't know until you try," you say. And you're correct in that. If McDonald stays in power all season and Hunt doesn't get hurt, we'd never know what might have been. But McDonald did not stay in power and Hunt did get injured. So now we will know.

You got what you wanted. Hope you were specific about it.