Syracuse Football: How Did Orange Opponents Fare in Week 5?

The Syracuse Orange didn't play this past weekend, but many of their opponents did. While wins or losses in this particular week are not solely indicative of the Orange's chances, five weeks of results are at least starting to give us a better picture of what to expect. Below, check out the results from all 12 SU opponents, to gauge how past and future opponents are shaping up.

Brown 41, Rhode Island 31

Rhode Island had its best offensive output of the season (so far) against in-state rival Brown. But it still wasn't enough to grab the team's first victory of the year. JUCO transfer QB Paul Mroz still showed himself a bit turnover prone (three INTs in this one), and despite a third quarter lead, the Rams simply couldn't close the door.

No. 12 Florida State 24, Wake Forest 16

FSU never trailed against Wake Forest, but the game was never really out of reach for the Deacons either. The caveat there is that Dalvin Cook exited the game with a leg injury, obviously derailing the Seminoles attack a bit as they rested all hopes on Everett Golson and the team's inconsistent passing game. Similar to what happened against Syracuse, Wake out-gained Florida State and had nearly twice as many first downs, but the deciding factor was turnovers (the Deacs had two, versus zero for FSU).

Central Michigan 29, Northern Illinois 19

After struggling through the first half, CMU turned it on in the third quarter vs. NIU and then held serve in the fourth to seal the big conference win (its first in as many tries). Cooper Rush once again led the offense to several scores, while the Chippewas defense forced four turnovers from the Huskies. Central Michigan is not the favorite in the MAC West, but certainly entered their name into the conversation with a win over one of the other teams thought to contend for the division championship.

No. 7 LSU 44, Eastern Michigan 22

For LSU, it wasn't a particularly impressive effort against the lowly Eagles, but they still ended up recording a 22-point victory while Leonard Fournette ran roughshod over yet another defense. With 233 rushing yards against EMU, the sophomore now has 864 yards on just 99 carries this season -- far and away the best in the nation. This game was close until the fourth, when LSU finally leaned on the gas, displaying what happens when Brandon Harris isn't effective and the entire offense depends on Fournette. Improvement in the passing game will be key for the Tigers as they try to stay unbeaten.

Memphis 24, USF 17

For a half, USF's defense was bending but not breaking and the offense was avoiding enough mistakes to keep it close. But the floodgates opened in the second and the Tigers were able to put the Bulls away. USF kept it respectable with a garbage time touchdown to make it a one-score game, but ultimately couldn't pull the upset over a Memphis squad likely to be the favorites in the AAC and riding a 12-game winning streak. USF's a five-point favorite over the Orange right now, despite being 1-3.

Virginia: Bye Week

The Hoos needed to lick their wounds for an extra week after they were trounced badly by Boise State.

Pittsburgh 17, Virginia Tech 13

Going in, we knew one of these teams was going into a tailspin with a loss. Ends up that team was not Pitt, who overcame inconsistent offensive play and three turnovers to grab the victory over the reeling Hokies. QB Nathan Peterman has been good but not great, and it's clear just how much this team misses James Conner in the run game too. Without the run to help take attention away, Tyler Boyd has been locked down by opponents -- something to keep an eye on before Pitt comes up to the Carrier Dome later this month.

Louisville 20, NC State 13

After four easy wins, everyone was in wait-and-see mode with NC State, and in their first challenging game, the Wolfpack fell flat on their faces. Raleigh's muddy conditions on Saturday assisted the struggling Cardinals a bit, as Louisville was able to ride the ground game to a conference win and its second straight victory overall following an 0-3 start. 'Ville is getting great run production out of QB Lamar Jackson, though the passing game is still a work in progress. For State, playing without the dismissed Shadrach Thornton, the run game was simply not operating at the high level it was in previous weeks, putting a lot more pressure on Jacoby Brissett to move the offense.

No. 6 Clemson 24, No. 15 Notre Dame 22

The Fighting Irish had yet another thrilling finish, but this time (unlike the UVa game) they came up short as Clemson stopped a two-point conversion with just seven seconds remaining. The Tigers have not been getting a ton out of the passing game as Deshaun Watson has struggled, and the offense looks diminished overall without Chad Morris steering the ship. But the defense was able to force four turnovers and ultimately make the final stop to secure the victory. We'll see if the offense gets better, but right now, this is very much a defensively-focused squad.

Duke 9, Boston College 7

This was an incredibly ugly game -- even if you take the rough weather down in North Carolina out of the equation. Duke was out-gained and largely ineffective on offense, but by way of three first half field goals and some quality defensive stands in the second-half, they were able to outlast BC. The Eagles were tough to watch on offense for the third consecutive week, but still stayed within two for the entire fourth quarter because of its tough defense. Injuries may start catch up to Boston College, but for now, they're staying competitive every week, win or lose.

Syracuse Opponent W-L in Week 5: 6-5

Overall Opponent W-L for 2015: 31-24