Syracuse, N.Y. — Two years ago, we saw the ceiling of the Syracuse football program under Dino Babers.
We now know the floor.
Liberty, a team that wasn’t playing at the highest level of Division I when Babers arrived here, came into the Carrier Dome and ran over a depleted Orange defense, handing SU a 38-21 loss, one of its most embarrassing in program history.
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Of course, Syracuse looks no more like a Power-Five team right now than the opponent, crippled by a roster that wouldn’t contend in the Sun Belt, let alone the ACC.
The team SU is suiting up is ill-equipped to compete against most schools. About half are freshmen who are physically overmatched. It now prepares to face a team stacked with future NFL players.
If Liberty can accrue more than 300 yards in the first half, imagine what top-ranked Clemson could do next week.
If Liberty’s backup running back can put up 142 yards and two touchdowns on his first five carries, imagine what Travis Etienne, a Heisman Trophy candidate and the nation’s active leader in career rushing yards, could do next week.
The state of the offense isn’t any better.
Syracuse, gifted possession inside the 15-yard line after a dropped punt, can’t pick up the one yard it needs even when it stacks the formation with a pair of defensive linemen.
Quarterback Rex Culpepper, making his first start in three years, connected on touchdown passes to Taj Harris, Aaron Hackett and Anthony Queeley, the third trimming a 21-point deficit to 35-21 midway through the fourth quarter.
SU then worked to pull off a miracle — against Liberty — attempting an onside kick and burning through its timeouts. It was a last stand to try to avoid what many here thought to be unthinkable at the start of the season.
But Liberty quickly covered nearly 40 yards on two plays, then punched in a short field goal to deliver Syracuse a fourth loss in five games and leave plenty of time to consider a simple question: Has it ever been worse?
Babers had said he did a lot of reading this past week, reflecting on the dire state of his team by leaning on his library of devotionals and spirituality to find stories of overcoming great odds.
Until and unless he gets a few key players back from injury, any win the rest of the season would feel like a biblical achievement.
More Syracuse football:
Grade the Orange after loss to Liberty
Syracuse football injury report for Liberty: SU gets a boost at running back, linebacker
Will Dino Babers play a freshman quarterback vs. Liberty? (8 things to know)
Meet 2 Syracuse football freshmen sharing the second-string QB role against Liberty
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