Have 4-4 starts been good to Syracuse football this century?

With the Syracuse Orange football team sitting at 4-4 heading into this weekend’s clash against the Boston College Eagles we decided to dig back in the record books to see what has happened since 2000 when the record matches that famous retired number.

In 2017 Syracuse lost on the road to Miami 27-19 to fall to 4-4. This was the game where Eric Dungey threw four interceptions, took one of those back from the Hurricanes and kneed a guy in the face. It was the start of a five-game losing streak as the Syracuse defense gave up 162 points in the final three games of a 4-8 season.

The previous season the Orange won a road game against Boston College to get to 4-4 then they lost the final four games. Syracuse gave up 210 points in those four games to close out a 4-8 season.

The 2013 Orange shut out Wake Forest to even their record at 4-4. Syracuse split the final four games, closing the regular season with a last-second win over BC to earn a bowl berth. After defeating Minnesota in the Texas Bowl the Orange finished 7-6.

Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images

Doug Marrone’s final season in 2012 saw Syracuse rebound from an 0-2 start to even their record at 4-4 with a final-minute win at South Florida. The Orange lost on the road to Cincinnati the following week but closed the year with four straight wins to finish 8-5 after the Pinstripe Bowl win over West Virginia.

The 2004 season was the final year of Paul Pasqualoni’s tenure and after beating UConn to go to 4-4 his squad went 2-2 the rest of the way. After denying BC a Fiesta Bowl bid in the Diamond Ferri game, Coach P’s Syracuse career ended in the Champs Sports Bowl loss to Georgia Tech.

Set Number: X61666 TK2 R2 F24

Syracuse’s 2000 beat West Virginia on the road to even their record at 4-4. The Orange went on to win two of their final three games that year but at 6-5 they didn’t earn a bowl invitation.

The good news- Syracuse has had a record of 4-4 six times since 2000 and they have finished at .500 or better four of those years.

The bad news- the two times they were under .500 have been during the Dino Babers era.

Can Dino find a way to lead this year’s Orange into bowl eligibility with four games to play? A lot might have to do with keeping his quarterback healthy down the stretch in 2021.