Coming off a trouncing at the hands of the Boston College Eagles, the Syracuse Orange were left to look at themselves in the mirror and figure out how would the remainder of their season unfold following a devastating loss. No less than 24 hours later, Head Coach Dino Babers terminated the employment of Defensive Coordinator Brian Ward.
With Ward’s dismissal, the bye week came at the right time as interim DC Steve Stanard had more preparation time with a talented unit and used it wisely as a rejuvenated defense caused three Duke Blue Devils (4-6, 2-4) turnovers, tallied four sacks and held them to 5/20 on third down in a 43 point victory; a game in which the Orange entered as double-digit underdogs.