Syracuse Orange: 2011 Exit Survey

Doug Marrone made big strides in his second year at the helm of the Syracuse Orange and led them to an 8-4 record and a bowl victory. After such a surprising season it was only natural for a bit of a letdown in year three for Marrone. For starters, Syracuse had to replace the Big East's third leading rusher as Delone Carter and his 1,233 yards used up their eligibility in 2010. The real kicker was the off field issues for the Orange (including their third place finish in the Fulmer Cup). With those distractions we picked Syracuse to finish 7th in the Big East (Phil Steele picked them dead last). Syracuse started out the season looking like they would make us look silly. They won five of their first seven games despite sometimes useing smoke and mirrors to do so. Two of their wins came in OT (against Wake Forest and a controversial win against Toledo) and one came by only 3 points against lowly Tulane. But it wasn't all smoke and mirrors in the first seven games. They also l...