Even the Orange wore orange.

After Syracuse handily one its first game of this 2016 college football season, first-year coach Dino Babers asked all fans to wear the home squad’s name color for Saturday’s game against Atlantic Coast Conference rival Louisville. By goodness, after wearing blue jerseys against the Raiders in game one, even the home team obliged by wearing that color for the big game.

Too big, too strong, too fast for Syracuse.

And then the big, bad, 13th-ranked Cardinals came out and scored on three of their first five offensive plays. Yup, 21-0 in the first quarter.

It went from Orange Out to Orange, ouch, pretty damn fast.

I stood up and turned my back to the field, not wanting to shout anything to upset my dear wife Karen or those that sit next to us every game in our section of season ticket holders.

Much to my surprise, then, sophomore QB Eric Dungey put together three touchdown drives and, much more to my surprise, the Syracuse defense limited Louisville to just two TDs in the rest of the first half.

I caught the end of the last scoring drive for the Orange that made the crowd – and us – stay through the steamy halftime. Yup, it was 90º F at least in the Carrier Dome. And then Louisville turned it on in the third quarter and rest of the game to win 62-28. We did not stay until the end, I do admit.

This new, fast offense and attaching defensive style of Babers’ has a way to go before the Orange stacks up with the elite of the ACC, and country.

Would you give up on your squad at 21-0? How long would you stay at a lopsided game? How hot would you tolerate at an indoor football game?