WVU won 15-7. the atmosphere was awesome though, lots of orange, it was wild. Wore my orange hair too.
This team was not all that talented last year, and it's best players may be freshmen now, or even guys not walking onto campus until next year.
So, that being said:
--The offense was bad. I don't think this offense is the right fit for this personnel. We have a big, strong QB who can run, and a RB who could be a Heisman Trophy candidate. After watching the Freeze Option at the Dome for so many years -- I hate to see it go. I think we'd do well with it.
--Part of the reason the offense is so bad right now is because we have an inexperienced QB who is being coached by a 1st time Offensive Coordinator and a very young QB Coach. There's not much experience on the offensive coaching side of the ball. And with a Defensive guy as Head Coach, they're going to be on their own pretty much to figure it out.
--The defense is really good. Coach Robinson proved he knows how to coach that segment, and they kept the team in the game as long as they could. If we can find a way to produce just some sort of points, we'll win our share of ugly, low-scoring football games. But that's ok with me.
--That may have been the most physical I've seen a Syracuse team play since the days of Kevin Mitchell, Dan Conley, TeBuckey Jones, Donovin Darius, etc.. Great to see these guys lay the wood.
--The new Field Turf is also a welcome site. I've always despised the way the Dome field looked, especially on television. The new blue end zones were a particularly nice touch. Now, when people watch games (maybe even possible recruits), it will actually look like Syracuse plays football on a football field, instead of someone's front door placemat.
Finally, I really wished we would have won today. And I'm upset we didn't after having the 7-0 lead. But I honestly thought we'd get beaten by 2-3 TD's. It wasn't a good showing, but there were a lot of encouraging signs. Mainly, just from the atmosphere and the support surrounding the new regime.
I think we're on the right track, and I give Coach Robinson a passing grade on his debut because the team played hard all day and was definitely prepared defensively.
The reality is we're just not talented enough right now and will have to fight for our lives every game to give us a chance for success. And we'll have to hope the offensive coaching staff settles in a little better.
But, long-term, I'm very excited about a lot of the changes I saw and think Orange football is on its way back to national respectability.
We just have to give Coach Robinson the chance to get some recruits in. Something he's already done pretty well.