Had you argued it before this season began, you’d have been thrown in a football madhouse – perhaps a room with shoulder-padded walls. Even the slightest suggestion of it three weeks ago, and you’d have seemed nuttier than a Skippy factory.

Just 10 days ago, a mention that Syracuse resided in the same football stratosphere as Pittsburgh would have elicited mocking laughter. Syracuse, fresh off a 4-8 season, and the Panthers, a team predicted to challenge for the Big East – and possibly national – title? Please.

But now, nine days after the Rockets’ 35-31 upset of then-No. 9 Pitt and two days after the Orangemen eviscerated Toledo, 34-7, a panel of experts confirmed that what a short time ago was unthinkable might be true.

So, UT defensive end Frank Ofili, you think Syracuse and Pittsburgh are on the same level?

‘Yeah, I do.’

Simple enough. Hey there, Rocket rover Paul Dye. Same question.

‘The same level. I think if they played, it would be a very good game.’

And you, quarterback Bruce Gradkowski, the man who threw for 461 yards against Pitt but only 255 at the Carrier Dome?

‘Definitely.’

Well, guess that settles that. These are players who faced Pittsburgh and Syracuse in back-to-back weeks and came away thinking a matchup with SU and the Panthers would make for an intriguing game.

So then, the Orangemen must be ready to assume a seat at the Big East’s head table, right UT running back Trinity Dawson?

‘I’m not gonna compare football teams because we didn’t come out and play like we did last week. A lot of the mistakes are on us. We stopped ourselves a lot. We didn’t execute at the highest level.’

Uh, oh. Dawson’s got a point. Toledo’s spread offense was about as sharp as a circle. Its receivers, who played magically against Pittsburgh, couldn’t have caught a pass with a catcher’s mitt Saturday night. Rocket defenders made worse tackles than a bankrupt bait shop.

Still, that doesn’t mean Syracuse isn’t for real, or that Ofili, Dye and Gradkowski are wrong. Sure, Toledo didn’t execute like it could, but the Orangemen were the main cause of it. SU’s young secondary prepared perfectly for the Rockets’ disorienting, no-huddle passing attack to the point where it confused Gradkowski.

Of course, some will argue that SU beat only Toledo, a substandard opponent. That’s weak. No one prefixed Toledo with ‘only’ last week, when the nation gushed about the Mid-American Conference. The Rockets, who hovered one spot outside the Top 25 last week, are not a poor team. Syracuse just made them look that way.

In doing so, SU proved it can play with anyone in the Big East. We’ll have to wait 12 days – when the Orangemen head to Blacksburg, Va., to play Virginia Tech – to see if the Orangemen have the firepower to beat anyone in the conference. But we know right now they’ll contend.

Quarterback R.J. Anderson still hasn’t thrown an interception. Their secondary, once laughable, has improved each game and is suddenly reliable. And their running back, Walter Reyes, has the balance of a gymnast and feet like a sewing machine.

Last year is officially over. The Orangemen, at 3-1, are for real.

‘This is a serious football team,’ said SU tight end Joe Donnelly, who’s been a spectator all season because of a shoulder injury. ‘We beat a very good football team. We definitely handled them. I can make a case that we can compete with anybody,’

‘We can play with anybody in the country,’ SU cornerback Steve Gregory said.

Less than a month ago, those comments would’ve qualified as punch lines. But as Gregory and Donnelly spoke, not a soul could be heard laughing.

Adam Kilgore is the sports editor at The Daily Orange, where his columns appear regularly. E-mail him at adkilgor@syr.edu.

Published on September 28, 2003 at 12:00 pm