Two games too late, the Syracuse football team’s offense finally showed itself capable of stringing together a productive scoring drive.

Two games into the season, SU took the ball from its own side of the field, ran a series of productive plays and reached the end zone.

It took two games for Syracuse to do what college football teams are supposed to do – score points – and it only showed itself capable of that for a single two-minute drive.

In Saturday’s 19-7 win over Cincinnati before 32,893 at the Carrier Dome, SU showed that despite a first-year quarterback, an underproductive running back and a depleted wide receiving corps, SU can reach the end zone. And it doesn’t need special teams or defense to help it.

‘Obviously, this is the first time we took the ball all the way downfield,’ should-be starting quarterback Perry Patterson said. ‘We still haven’t done everything we hope to show, though.’

Syracuse fans certainly hope not. Because if one productive scoring drive in three games is everything it can show, Syracuse should jump on Temple’s raft en route to Big East castaway.

The offense looked terribly flat almost the entire game. But for one two-minute span, SU actually looked like a legitimate Division I team.

The Syracuse offense produced one worthwhile scoring drive Saturday. It’s not much, but it’s one more than the team’s first two games put together.

The drive started at SU’s own 42-yard line with 7:44 left in the second quarter. A four-yard pass to receiver Landel Bembo. A 10-yard rush by running back Walter Reyes. An 18-yard run by Reyes. A four-yard run by backup Damien Rhodes. A 17-yard pass to receiver Andre Fontenette and a Reyes six-yard touchdown run.

Voila! A Syracuse score.

Seems so easy. Yet that was the first time a Syracuse drive started on SU’s side of the field and ended in a touchdown – not counting a 46-yard breakout run. (Rhodes against Buffalo.)

This was one drive that actually looked impressive. Finally, most fans must have thought as Reyes high-stepped into the end zone, some hope.

But some drive summaries Saturday read as follows: Four plays. Negative-7 yards. Two minutes and 20 seconds. No points.

That took place Saturday after an Anthony Smith interception put SU at the UC 22-yard line. SU actually moved backward before kicker Collin Barber missed a 47-yard field goal attempt.

Syracuse forced six turnovers. The offense scored three total points off them.

If a high school team did that, it’d be running laps at 3 a.m. every day that week.

But that is what SU’s first three games have been littered with. A meager ground game. An almost non-existent passing game. Not a single impressive scoring drive.

Is there any reason to look at SU’s first game, a 51-point loss to Purdue on Sept. 5? SU had the ball on its own side of the field many times. Didn’t reach the end zone – or field-goal posts – once.

Against Buffalo, Syracuse scored 37 points. Twenty-five of them were scored by the defense and special teams.

The other 12 came from the offense, but six of those came when a second Smith punt block put SU on the Buffalo one-yard line. After retreating two yards, Reyes finally pounded it in for a three-yard touchdown.

SU’s other touchdown came on a Rhodes 46-yard run. Not exactly the offense proving itself capable of pecking away downfield.

On Saturday, Syracuse finally showed itself competent enough to accomplish at least that. SU didn’t score any huge pickups on the drive. The longest play went for 18 yards.

Perhaps you could credit the coaches for finally allowing Patterson a chance to guide SU without being shuffled in and out of the deck.

Perhaps you could credit an injury, which sidelined starter Joe Fields for the entire second half.

Or, perhaps you could just credit Patterson.

The sophomore split time with Fields through SU’s first two games. Neither emerged as the clear-cut starter.

On Saturday, Patterson distinguished himself. He led SU on a respectable scoring drive – finally! – something Fields failed to do through the first three games.

‘Today is exactly what I had anticipated all season,’ Fontenette said. ‘We moved the ball well. The offensive line blocked well. As opposed to last week, this was great.’

SU better hope it hasn’t shown all it has to offer.