The Syracuse Orange triumphed over the Bye Week Fightin’ Byes on Saturday, and get back to the ACC schedule this coming week. While the win over the Byes didn’t make many waves though, plenty more results did across college football — including those involving the reaming teams on SU’s schedule.
Each week, we’ll be using this space to look at past and future foes on the 2018 schedule, and assess what’s ahead for the Orange. So how’d Syracuse’s opponents fare in week seven? And how might that affect SU going forward?
Week 7
Western Michigan Broncos (5-2, 3-0)
Result: Win, 42-35 over Bowling Green
WMU’s hot start in the MAC continued, as they got by Bowling Green by way of another balanced effort on offense. Levante Bellamy had 145 yards on the ground, and Jon Wassink had 266 through the air. The Broncos were actually down seven at half, but scored in bunches for the remainder of the game to seal the win.
Wagner Seahawks (2-5, 1-1)
Result: Win, 23-22 over St. Francis (PA)
Wagner halted its five-game losing streak with a miraculous comeback over NEC foe St. Francis, capped by the “Staten Island Special” at the final whistle. The trick play was one of the better highlights from the weekend’s college football action, and helped the Seahawks get past the game’s offensive struggles (including Ryan Fulse’s 3.4 yards per carry average).
Florida State Seminoles (3-3, 1-3)
Result: Bye week
Connecticut Huskies (1-5, 0-3)
Result: Bye week
Clemson Tigers (6-0, 3-0)
Result: Bye week
Pittsburgh Panthers (3-4. 2-1)
Result: Loss, 19-14 to Notre Dame
By way of forcing two turnovers and avoiding mistakes themselves, Pitt actually held a 14-12 lead against a top-five Notre Dame team heading into the fourth quarter. However, they couldn’t keep the Irish out of the end zone long enough to preserve the upset. The Panthers looking this good a week after beating Syracuse either angers you or makes you more okay with week six’s loss. You decide.
North Carolina Tar Heels (1-4. 1-2)
Result: Loss, 22-19 loss to Virginia Tech
Given the odd primetime placement for the game, you may have caught a significant portion of the UNC-Virginia Tech contest on Saturday — an odd affair that featured sloppy play and turnovers, and also showed the best and worst of what the Heels could be. Carolina tossed numerous QBs out there while racking up over 500 yards against Tech, but also turned the ball over three times and failed to finish drives. There are assumptions to be made here. I’m just not sure what they are (beyond UNC being far from a pushover).
N.C. State Wolfpack (5-0. 2-0)
Result: Bye week
Wake Forest Demon Deacons (3-3, 0-2)
Result: Bye week
Louisville Cardinals (2-5, 0-4)
Result: Loss, 38-20 to Boston College
Are the wheels officially off for Louisville at this point? The Cards barely topped 200 yards of total offense while Boston College racked up over 250 yards on the ground without AJ Dillon in the game. It’s a tough call what’s a bigger issue for UL at this point: a lack of defense, or the run game being completely MIA.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-0, N/A)
Result: Win, 19-14 over Pitt
Ian Book was incredibly accurate, going 26-of-32 for 264 yards and two scores, but it was the two picks that helped derail the Irish offense. Between those turnovers and zero run game, it’s a little easier to see how this close call occurred. Still, the better team prevailed as Notre Dame’s defense held firm in the fourth quarter and they did just enough on offense to earn the win. A couple missed Pitt field goals also provided an assist for the national title hopeful Fighting Irish.
Boston College Eagles (5-2, 2-1)
Result: Win, 38-20 over Louisville
There are certainly lingering questions for BC without Dillon (whose future status is still unknown), but the team did what it needed to against a bad Louisville squad to get win No. 5. Dillon’s backups looked very capable replacing him by committee, and Anthony Brown did what was needed through the air. The Eagles’ defense took care of business too, shutting down the UL passing game and holding them to just above a 50-percent completion rate.
Week 7 opponent W-L: 4-3
2018 total W-L: 43-33