Entering his third season as the school’s head coach, what should be expected of the Syracuse’s college football team in 2018?

It has been more than two years since Syracuse hired Dino Babers to be the head coach of their college football team. As Syracuse’s fourth head coach since 2005, the school is hoping that Babers is the guy who will lead its college football team back into the national spotlight.

In his first two seasons at Syracuse though, it’s been more of the same for the school’s football program. Although Syracuse has some impressive wins over talented schools like Clemson and Virginia Tech during his tenure, the Orange have still only won eight out of 16 games with Babers as their head coach.

So what should Syracuse’s expectations be for their college football program in year three of the Dino Babers era?

A winning record should not be too much to ask for, should it? The Orange’s football team hasn’t finished with a record over .500 since 2013 when they ended year with a victory over Minnesota in the Texas Bowl and finished 7-6.

What about more than two conference wins in 2018? That is also something Syracuse’s football program has not accomplished since the 2013 season.

In his third season with the school, Babers should be able to lead his football team to at least three victories over ACC opponents in 2018. If not, then his job may be on the line sooner than he would like.

Is Syracuse finishing the season ranked among the top 25 college football teams important to Babers’ future with the school? It’s not vital, but no one at the Syracuse would be complaining if it actually did happen this year.

The last time the Orange ended a year as a top 25 team was way, way back in 2001 when they finished 10-3 and the school’s roster featured players like James Mungro, R.J. Anderson, Troy Nunes, David Tyree, and Dwight Freeney.

That seems like ages ago, but that level of success is something that Syracuse has been chasing ever since they fired Paul Pasqualoni in 2004.

The school’s expectations for Babers in 2018 should be far from what they were for the team during the early 2000s though. Let him continue to build the program and bring in guys that fit his style of play.

For next season, Babers leading Syracuse to a winning record and at least three ACC wins doesn’t seem like too much to ask.

But for a college football program that has struggled as much as the Orange during the majority of the 21st century, it may just be a task that is still too tall for Syracuse to achieve this season.