Syracuse Football: Christmas Wish List Heading into 2017

Dec 18, 2014; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Santa Claus on the field before the game against the Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The Syracuse football team didn’t do as well as we would’ve hoped in 2016. But there’s always hope for 2017. What’s on SU’s Christmas Wish List?

I’m sure the Syracuse football team had bowl hopes on last year’s list, but it didn’t pan out this season. But that doesn’t mean next season is out of the question by any means!

A 4-8 campaign is never good whether you expected a lot of wins or not. But things are looking bright for 2017 for the Orange.

With a year in the books for Babers and company that should only benefit the team going into next season. But you only get one chance to hop on Santa’s lap before Christmas is here.

What do you ask for? Should you be humble and ask for little and hope for a lot? Do you ask for a lot and hope Santa comes through for you? So many questions, so little time!

Oct 1, 2016; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Syracuse Orange head coach Dino Babers chats on the sideline prior to the game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Dino Babers will be SU’s lead man in 2017

A lot of this could have very well been paranoia more than anything else. But you can’t deny the rumors that have been swirling around Dino Babers and possibly leaving Central New York.

To correlate this to a modern example. Syracuse ended up getting a date to the dance that was way out of their league. But despite all odds the girl said yes and SU has been clicking their heels ever since.

Babers came in promising a revolution on offense and that’s exactly what we got. The pillars of success are there, we just need to see it come all together.

You’ve got to give him credit, he’s a man of his word. He repeatedly pounded his chest that this was the location he wanted to be. While he fell short of calling this his “dream job” the point remains, he’s the face of the Orange.

Nov 26, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; A Syracuse Orange helmet as seen on the sidelines against the Pittsburgh Panthers during the fourth quarter at Heinz Field. Pittsburgh won 76-61. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Here’s hoping Babers finally gets some recruits

All season Babers has been working with someone else’s groceries. Of course that someone else is former SU coach Scott Shafer.

Next season will be Babers’ first opportunity to work with his own ingredients that he bought himself. That factoid can’t be understated and we should start to see the fruits of Babers complicated offense’s labor this upcoming season.

I spoke with Syracuse.com football reporter extraordinaire Stephen Bailey over the weekend to get the temperature of Babers’ 2017 recruiting efforts, here’s what he had to say:

Stephen Bailey, SU Football Beat Writer for the Post Standard/Syracuse.com (@Stephen_Bailey1):

“Syracuse’s 2017 class is shaping up to be one of the program’s best in recent years. The Orange projects to bring in players who fit new systems on both sides of the ball, add depth at key positions and take on a potential quarterack of the future in Tommy DeVito. As long as SU can hold onto who it has and reel in another handful of contributors (expect some from the JUCO ranks), this cycle should be considered successful. Then the question will be whether SU’s coaches can take this talent, produce more on-field success and parlay that into more significant recruiting bounds.”

Next: A Bowl Game?

A bowl game in year two?

Hey if SU got lucky with Babers, can the fanbase get lucky asking for a gift maybe they don’t