Syracuse, N.Y. -- The narrative took hold a year ago, when Syracuse football coach Dino Babers alluded to an offensive spike in the middle of Year 2.
Syracuse's uptempo spread, the coach said, would show flashes of brilliance in Year 1 (it did). But the efficiency shown during a victory against Boston College was to be the norm by the middle of Year 2.
Babers hasn't made any guarantees, but the precedent set at his previous coaching stops at Eastern Illinois and Bowling Green have set high expectations for a similar breakthrough in his second season at Syracuse.