As the final seconds ticked off the clock for the Syracuse Orange football team’s Saturday night loss to the Pittsburgh Panthers, I couldn’t help but feel like we’d been expecting this end to the season.
Not just this game — though that was easy to see coming by this point. But the entirety of this three-game losing streak, the way things came undone, the lackluster showing in a pivotal game vs. Pitt, and ultimately, the season as a whole finishing just shy of bowl eligibility.
Going into this season, 5-7 was about in line with what many thought this team was capable of, but after nine games, we were sold on the fact that things could be better than expected.