Dino Babers professed that he was down in spirit, two days removed from a 45-20 thrashing by South Florida.

“I’ve been down a little bit,” he said at his weekly Monday press conference. “I really have.”

But his words of choice — good, pride, happy — a week later at Rentschler Field after holding on to beat Connecticut, 31-24, took on a much different tone.

“It’s just good to say you’re 2-2,” Babers said. “You think you wouldn’t take pride in that, but it’s a big difference saying you’re 2-2 than when you’re 1-3.”

A loss would have been detrimental to the season, casting into doubt any idea of a win through the final eight games. But a close win like this doesn’t change much in terms of SU’s outlook on the rest of the season.

Syracuse (2-2, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) might have a better record than upcoming opponent Notre Dame (1-3), but it’s not a better team. A win is unlikely. Maybe in a week I’ll be proven wrong considering all the turmoil the Fighting Irish is currently in. This is the same Orange squad that was blown out by Louisville and South Florida, and might even be worse depending on how the injuries shake out. Syracuse is just as bad as it was before the win.

The team took the field against UConn, missing seven of its 22 starters on offense and defense from two weeks ago. Defensive backs Juwan Dowels and Antwan Cordy are done for the year. Safety Kielan Whitner and center Jason Emerich missed their second games in a row. Right guard Omari Palmer, left tackle Cody Conway and defensive tackle Kayton Samuels also did not make the trip to East Hartford and are out for an unknown amount of time.

Behind the patchwork line, the offense was reduced to mostly a one-man show with Amba Etta-Tawo putting forth a herculean effort. Even Eric Dungey’s throws weren’t really on the money, but Etta-Tawo took over, accounting for more than half of the team’s yards. The running game was nonexistent.

“It’s really on us to put an entire game together and not just the first five minutes of the game,” linebacker Zaire Franklin said, referring to how the Orange went up 14-0 in the first five minutes against UConn and was up 17-0 on USF before losing. “You can’t just go up 14-0, 17-0 at the beginning of the game and then put ourselves back into a dogfight.”

The defense came up with two huge plays in a pick-six and a goal-line stop. But it was still tagged for 14 catches and 111 yards by Noel Thomas — UConn’s one receiving threat. No other Huskies receiver had more than two catches heading into their final drive.

Connecticut quarterback Bryant Shirreffs, who averaged a measly 175.5 yards passing per game and had nearly as many interceptions as touchdown passes for his career, threw a career-high 45 times for 264 yards in a game that he didn’t even play particularly well.

The chunk plays that gouged the Orange defense in the previous two weeks were still there, just to a lesser degree because of a less skilled opponent. UConn’s lackluster offense managed nine plays of 15 yards or more — the same as Syracuse’s highly-touted attack.

Babers said the offensive line played well, considering the team won. Dungey labeled their play as “great.” Babers was “OK” with Cole Murphy’s two missed field goals and two kickoffs out of bounds and “happy” with the defensive effort.

It took the stop on the potential game-tying goal-line chance for the Huskies with less than seven minutes left and an onside kick recovery by Brisly Estime along the sideline with 33 seconds left to secure the game.

“I’m happy for the team,” Babers said. “Hopefully we can keep it going.”

It’s a hope, but it shouldn’t be an expectation. This is still the same team as a week ago. And that’s not a good thing.

Jon Mettus is an Asst. Sports Editor at The Daily Orange, where his column appears occasionally. He can be reached at [email protected] or @jmettus.

Published on September 25, 2016 at 11:18 pm

Contact Jon: [email protected] | @jmettus