Earlier this season, the Syracuse Orange football team held a double-digit lead against Virginia before losing.

Then, the Orange had a double-digit lead against Louisville, and lost again.

On Saturday, the Orange found a way to complete the victory, toppling No. 19 SMU on the field at the JMA Wireless Dome. After the win, Syracuse is 4-4 and 2-4 in the ACC. The loss drops SMU to 6-2.

Here's what you need to know. The takeaways are in no particular order.

Just because Syracuse won the game doesn't mean it came easily. The Orange led 20-10 at the half but ultimately found themselves down 27-23 late in the fourth quarter. However, with less than 30 seconds to play, Steve Angeli found Noah Meyers for a 2-yard touchdown completion to give the Orange the lead again for good.

Syracuse is back at .500 and needs to get to at least six wins to earn a bowl selection for the second time in three years. With four games left, the Orange need to go at least 2-2. Up next? Vs. Clemson, at North Carolina State, at Boston College and vs. Notre Dame.

As they have most of the year, the Orange stayed steadfast in their ground game approach. The Orange ran it 37 times for 138 yards (3.7 ypc) and two touchdowns. Ahmad Miller had 56 yards while Tylik Hill had 54. Angeli ran for a 26-yard touchdown in the first quarter that gave Syracuse a 7-0 lead early.

Umari Hatcher is still the best receiver on this team, and he had six catches for 65 yards. But he had more help today, as three other players had at least three catches. Freshman Calvin Russell III had three catches for 41 yards.

While his stat line won't reflect it, Russell made a handful of plays that were very close to really strengthening his line. He caught a touchdown over a defender that was nullified after a very close review, and he had a big catch-and-run on third down taken away because of a questionable holding penalty. He showed exactly what a five-star recruit looks like.

Kevin Jennings had a big day at quarterback for SMU, going 26-of-39 for 351 yards and two touchdowns, but Syracuse had six sacks and two fumble recoveries which really helped neutralize things.

For all the talk about SU's kicking woes, Tripp Woody was 3-for-3 on field goals and 3-for-3 on extra-points. He missed a field goal that he got a second chance on, and he hit the upright on another that went in, but beggars can't be choosers.