It’s like Syracuse Athletic Director John Wildhack knew the question would come up coming into Dino Babers’ seventh season at the helm.

“Dino is not on the hot seat," Wildhack said at a media availability in June. “The hot lists and who’s on the hot seat and all that. It’s a cottage industry. It generates the hits and the clicks. We get all that.”

Experts all over the map believe the opposite: The temperature is reaching a boiling point. One bowl in six seasons. A 29-43 record. That 10-win season in 2018 feels like a lifetime ago, so it wasn’t a surprise that Babers used an old film as a metaphor for 2022.

“I really think this is a ‘Heartbreak Ridge,’ Clint Eastwood, adjust and improvise," Babers said.

He had to make some changes, starting with cutting a handful of coaches, including offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert. It made sense. SU had one of the best running backs in the country in the backfield, but the offense as a whole was putting up a little less than 25 points per game.

"We want to be successful on offense. We want to score more points," Babers said.

Enter Robert Anae. He’s done a lot during his 35 years on the sidelines, including turning Virginia into the third-best total offense in the nation.

“Maturity, age, wisdom and a calming effect. He’s kind of like the grandfather that can turn into a superhero or one of those evil aliens from outer space if you’re not doing something right," Babers said.

The pieces are in place. Sixteen returning starters. The question is, how will this group take the heat?

“I've got 107, but you need a whole bunch of them to make it work. You need a whole bunch of guys who are being unselfish," Babers said.

Babers has a message to the fans who are itching for another bowl.

“Well, the definition of faith is belief without evidence. I think they have some evidence,” he said. “We need them in the seats. We need our home field advantage back.”