My 2016 SU Football Preview Part 3: The Schedule | Syracusefan.com

My 2016 SU Football Preview Part 3: The Schedule

SWC75

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The Schedule

(My observations in this section are based on what I read in Lindy’s, Sports Illustrated and ESPN’s College Football previews and well as internet sources like NunesMagician and The Juice).

One odd thing about last year’s team is how much better a team they were in the Dome than on the road: We opened with three straight victories in the Dome against lesser opposition, then gave a top ten team, (LSU) all they could handle in a 24-34 loss for which the score was not deceiving, at least in what it indicated about that game. We all felt we had a pretty good team. Then came the disaster at South Florida and the game at Virginia where we let a 10 point fourth quarter lead slip away and lost in 3OT to a 4-8 team. We came home and lost by a field goal to an 8-5 Pitt steam. Then we went on the road and got blown out by Florida State and Louisville before coming home to give #1 ranked Clemson as good a battle as we gave LSU, 27-37. Then we had another poor game losing to our old pals, NC State, 29-42. They are now 8-1 vs. us all time and each one felt like having a tooth removed the old fashioned way. We finally broke what had become an 8 game losing streak with a 20-17 win over Boston College in the Dome to end the season. Overall, we were 4-3 at home and out-cored our opposition 198-155, (28-22 per game). We were 0-5 on the road 129-217, (26-43). What does it mean for 2016? Who knows? It’s a new coaching regime installing new systems on each side of the ball. And in 2014 we were 1-5 in the Dome (and would have been 0-6 if the Villanova kicker hadn’t missed a chip shot) and 2-4 on the road. Go figure.

I do like our road schedule this year, with games at Connecticut, Wake Forest and Boston College before we have to go to Clemson and Pittsburgh. Somehow we’ve played competitively against Clemson for two years in a row and the Pitt game is the last game of the season. Unless we have a shot at a bowl, that won’t really matter. The tone of the season will have been set long before that. Then there’s another Meadowlands game against Notre Dame. We won’t be expected to win so we won’t have anything to lose in that one. The big challenges are mostly in the Dome: Louisville and South Florida, Virginia Tech, NC State, (trying to go 9-1 against us: we’re running out of teeth to pull) and Florida State. If we can beat Colgate and win a couple more of those games, we’ll be doing well.
 
September

Friday, September 2, 7PM in the Dome vs. COLGATE TV: ESPN 3

61-7, 34-6, 47-0, 71-0, 46-6, 51-8, 47-24, 49-15, 42-7. Those have been the Syracuse –Colgate scores since Jim Brown’s senior year. We’ve beaten the Red Raiders a total of 14 times in a row, a longer streak than the famous “Hoodoo” from 1925-37 when they never lost to us. They still hold a 31-30-5 lead over SU in the All-time series. They won the first game in 1891, 16-22 and went on to win two more to give them a lead they have never surrendered. We can finally catch up this year! Actually, I think we should open every season in the Dome against Colgate, then play a home –and-home with Army, then play a MAC or C-USA team, then a power 5 team, (or Notre Dame if it’s our turn), then the conference schedule. That would be a nicely balanced schedule for SU and the AD would have to wheel and deal for only 1-2 opponents a year. . Are listening, Mr. Wildhack?

This one might not be the walk-over Colgate games since Jimmy Brown scored those 6TDs have traditionally been. Syracuse is coming off consecutive 3-9 and 4-8 seasons and has a new coaching staff that is trying to install new schemes on both sides of the ball using the old players. We’ve had trouble with FCS teams before. We should have lost to Villanova two years ago and were behind at halftime to Stony Brook two years before that. If you keep the underdog in the game, anything can happen.

And Colgate can make things happen. They lost their first three games a year ago, then won 9 of 11, winning the Patriot League title and then going to the FCS “Elite 8”, beating New Hampshire 27-20 and James Madison 44-38 before falling to Sam Houston State 21-48, all on the road. Are we as good as Sam Houston State? Maybe- looking at the highlights and the stats, I think they run something similar to what Dino Babers wants to do here:
Colgate vs Sam Houston St. - FCS Football
If we do it well, we might get similar results. That could be a big if.

Colgate has some gaudy stats of their own. Quarterback Jake Melville ran for 1,073 yards and passed for 2,552 more, producing 11 touchdowns each way. James Holland was their second leading rusher with 749 yards but scored 16TDs. Wide-out John Maddaluna caught passes for 910 yards. But keep in mind they played 14 games, (all of which counted in the stats: there are no “regular season” stats any more- it’s just like basketball). Their true production is seen in the per-game numbers below and the rankings are in the FCS, not the FBS, (there are 123 teams in FCS, 127 in FBS). The fact that Melville rushed for 1,000 yards stamps hi for us – or anyone- to contain but they will be especially hard for a team with a weakness at defensive end.

The Red Raiders were actually more known for their defense, led by linebacker Kyle Diener and defensive linemen Pat Afriyie. They were a very aggressive unit with 36 sacks and 76 tackles for a loss. Maybe we can take advantage of that. The Red Raiders gave up a lot of yards through the air last year.

This is a game with more intrigue than we want it to have. Colgate gets almost all their top players back on both sides of the ball. They may not be Division 1A athletes but they will have more experience than a lot of their SU counterparts. Really, the divisions overlap. The top FCS teams would make decent FBS teams and the worst FBS teams would not be among the top FCS teams. This game could be a blow-out like the ones above but it might not be. And if things go very wrong, it could be a hugely disappointing opener for SU. Dino Babers opening game at Eastern Illinois was a 49-28 win over Southern Illinois, a team they’d lost to 28-45 the year before. His opening game at Bowling Green was a 31-59 loss to Western Kentucky, whom they had not played the year before. His opener to his second season at BG was almost the same score: 30-59 at Tennessee.

Last year’s stats and rankings, offensive and defensive:
Rushing yards per game: 206(23rd) vs. 150 (44th)
Passing yards per game: 182 (82nd) vs. 248 (107th)
Total Yards per game: 389 (54th) vs. 398 (72nd)
Scoring per game: 25 (67th) vs. 29 (76th)
Turnover Margin: +10 (15th)
Total Sacks: 36 (26th) vs. 13 (10th)


Friday, September 9, 8PM in the Dome vs. LOUISVILLE TV: ESPN2

Bug meet windshield: our 17-41 loss to the Cardinals last year put the final nail in the coffin of the Shafer era. Louisville hadn’t been playing well, (four losses in their first 6 games then wins over dreadful Boston College and Wake Forest teams by a total of 4 points), but then a lot of teams have “gotten well” against Syracuse lately. They went on to finish 8-5 with a bowl win over Texas A&M. I think they are the third best program in our division of the ACC and probably the third best in the entire conference. They’ve done a lot winning since the turn of the century, are in SEC country, (but better than the other Power Five program in the state, Kentucky), and have a coach in Bobby Petrino who isn’t going to win any “Man of the Year” contests but could certainly win Coach of the Year, (not unlike their basketball coach). They probably have the best all-around athletic program in the conference and usually generate the most money.

They return 17 starters from last year- tied for most in the conference. Do they have a dynamic, multi-threat quarterback? Of course they do: Lamar Jackson who ran for 960 yards and 11TDs and passed for 1840 and 12 TDs, (but only completed 54.7%, not a good number in a modern passing attack, where short throws set up the long ones). You could ask Texas A&M about Lamar: he ran for 226 yards and threw for 227 against them and accounted for all four touchdowns in an 27-21 win. Jamari Staples missed four games but still led the team with 635 yards on 37 catches and 3 scores and the well-named James Quick led in TD catches with 5 on 37 catches for 624 yards. Jackson is 6-3, Staples 6-4 and Quick 6-1 so these guys can play catch with each other over smaller defenders. They are scrambling a bit at running back, where Brandon Ratcliff led with 689 yards and 7 scores. They have a veteran line in front of these guys, although they did have problems protecting the quarterback last year.

An opposing coach told SI: “Bobby Petrino’s a great offensive coach and, while you may think he’s going to throw it all over the place, he’s got a very physical team, one that’s going to run the ball first….They’ve got tons of athletes defensively. Their team speed is tremendous and they’re very physical up front. Their secondary does a really good job in coverage and in talking away the easy-access throws.” Including bubble-screens?

Petrino inherited a lot of defensive talent from Charley Strong. DC Todd Grantham is “an aggressive guy who likes to blitz. But it’s imperative that you don’t let his high-pressure tactics make you one-dimensional offensively. That’s what he wants.” (SI) They use a three man front and lost DE Sheldon Rankins to the NFL but DeVonte Fields had 11 sacks and 22 ½ tackles for a loss. Fields is a 6-4 242 pound linebacker who runs a 4.62 forty. SI calls him a “freak”. Another freak is 6-5 safety Josh Jarvey Clemsons who “looks like he should be lining up at end.” He had 89 tackles and 3 interceptions. 6-1 308 DeAngelo Brown “returns as a rock in the middle of the line. He is a disruptive bull of a tackle”. (Lindy’s) Remember Nick Fairly in the middle of the Quack Attack in the 2010 championship game? It takes just one bull to wreck the China shop.

They lost both their place kicker and punter, which could be a problem in a close game on the road. If we can keep Jackson in the pocket and run our offense the way Babers wants it run, we have a shot but there’s be no “running start” to this season, the way there was last year. We go right from Colgate to the deep end of the pool.

Last year’s stats and rankings, offensive and defensive:
Rushing yards per game: 171 (64th) vs. 120 (14th)
Passing yards per game: 245 (46th) vs. 212.5 (51st)
Total Yards per game: 416 (54th) vs. 333 (18th)
Scoring per game: 29 (65th) vs. 24 (39th)
Turnover Margin: -1 (75th)
Total Sacks: 38 (13th) vs. 44 (124th)


Saturday, September 17, 3PM in the Dome vs. SOUTH FLORIDA TV: ESPN 3

South Florida sure got well against Syracuse last year. They were coming off four straight losing seasons, the last under Coach Willie Taggart, who was 7-21 after they started 1-3. Syracuse was 3-1 with the only loss a competitive effort vs. mighty LSU. SU fans expected a blow-out and we got one. After a frustrating first half which saw the Bills take a 3-10 lead, SU gave up two TDs in the first five minutes of three second half to fall behind 3-24, rallied to make it 17-24 and began trading scores until two SU turnovers left the final at 24-45. We were out-gained 305-540. The Bulls won seven of their last eight before losing a bowl game to Western Kentucky and finishing 8-5 while we went 4-8.

It was particularly bitter to SU fans who remember the decline of the previous decade. There were three opponents that symbolized that decline. One was Rutgers, the former doormat of the Big East, a team we once beat 50-3 and 70-14 in consecutive years, who became a contender and a bowl team while we became the conference’s new doormat. Another was Connecticut, who had been a small college team we would have never deigned to play who rose to major college status and began beating us. The third was South Florida, who didn’t even have a team until 1997 but slapped us around 0-27, 10-27, 10-41, 13-45 and 20-34 the first five times we played them. Beyond that, the Bulls, like the Scarlet Knights and Huskies, were important and mostly new recruiting rivals whose success seemed to be draining the lifeblood from our program. Doug Marrone then got a couple of wins against them and they seemed to have fallen on hard times so a “just like the old days” loss to them was both unexpected and very painful. The fact that our hopes had been soaring after the LSU made it even more difficult to accept.

South Florida has always been a sleeping giant. Both they and Central Florida are large state schools, (36 and 54 thousand undergraduates, respectively) in great recruiting areas, (Tampa and Orlando), and they are both trying to do what Florida State, a girls’ school until 1947 with ‘only’ 32,000 undergrads in a much smaller city in a more remote location, (Tallahassee), did in the 60’s and 70’s- rise from obscurity to a football powerhouse. They may be getting back on schedule.

Guess what- they have a dual threat quarterback! Quinton Flowers rushed for 991 yards and 12TDs and passed for 2296 and 22 touchdowns. They also have 6-0 205 Marlon Mack who ran through us like a Mack truck and wound up the season with 1,381 rushing yards and 8 TDs. And they have a top receiver in Rodney Adams who had 45 catches for 822 yards and 9 scores. His former high school teammate, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, transferred in from NC State after catching 44 for them two years ago. He’s “6-3 210 and can overpower and out-jump defenders.” (Lindys) They are missing three starters from their line.

Defensively 5 of their top 6 tacklers are back. And they were +10 in turnovers, having forced 25 of them. They run a 4-2-5 scheme and the “2” are both excellent: Augie Sanchez and Nigel Harris. They have only one returning lineman, but he’s a big one: 6-1 305 Deadrain Senat. (Deadrin?) Four of the five D-backs return, with cornerback Deatrick Nichols being the best. (Deatrick?) ESPN interviewed an opposing coach who said “They attack the football and play with a lot of speed, effort and aggression.”

Emilio Nadelman missed 8 field goals last year and they are looking for a new punter. They have good kick returners, although they didn’t score last year.

A repeat of last year’s results against Louisville or South Florida would not be surprising. If Dino Babers can reverse either result, that will be a very good sign.

Last year’s stats and rankings, offensive and defensive:
Rushing yards per game: 246.5 (10th) vs. 141 (31st)
Passing yards per game: 195 (95th) vs. 239 (84th)
Total Yards per game: 442 (35th) vs.381 (52nd)
Scoring per game: 34 (41st) vs. 23 (35th)
Turnover Margin: +10 (13th)
Total Sacks: 34 (26th) vs. 21 (13th)


Saturday, September 24, TBA at CONNECTICUT TV: TBA

Like South Florida, Connecticut is one of those schools whose rise corresponded to SU’s decline and thus our losses to them symbolized that decline- and accelerated it because they became important recruiting rivals. G-Rob lost to them 7-26, beat them 20-14 but then lost 7-30 and 14-39, then Doug Marrone lost to them 31-56, 6-23 and 21-28 before finally righting the ship with a 40-10 win in the Dome, (using a high-powered passing attack). Like South Florida, they hit a down period as they stagnated under Randy Edsall and declined under Coach P. Like South Florida, they are coming back under a new coach, Bob Diaco, who had a rough (2-10) start but rallied to 6-7 last year, including a bowl game. And they will be Dino Baber’s first road opponent as Syracuse coach, just as South Florida was our first road opponent last year.
Connecticut’s problem last year was scoring: they were 121st in the country and scored only 17 points per game, including four games where they didn’t get past 10 points. Yes, they have a dual threat quarterback, although he’s not quite as productive as the ones we will have seen by now. Bryant Shirretts passed for 2,078 yards and 9TDs while running for 503 yards and 3 scores. Their best offensive player is 5-7 180 Arkeel Newsome, the kind of back who can hide behind lineman and pick his opening to suddenly accelerate, which he did for 792 yards, (4.3 average), and 6 scores. He also has good hands bad caught 45 passes for 465 yards and 2 scores. Their leading receiver was Noel Thomas who had 54 catches for 719 yards and 3 scores. He was held without a catch in the 12/16/15 St. Petersburg Bowl loss to Marshall. Was it a hangover from Christmas? Their real problem last year was the offensive line which “has to sort itself out and work in unison”. (Lindy’s) If we get our offense in gear, the Huskies may be hard-pressed to keep up.

This team was all about defense a year ago, ranking 15th in the country in scoring defense and 20th in pass defense. One coach said “They are assignment-sound and often drop all four of their linebackers into coverage. It’s very hard to find windows to throw into when eight guys drop.” (ESPN)

This will be quite a challenge for our new offensive scheme. They use a 3-4 scheme and have 3 of the four linebackers back and the fourth spot will probably be taken from a Florida State transfer, E.J. Levenberry. But their best defender is likely cornerback Jamar Summers who had 8 interceptions last year, second in the country. “Safety Obi Melifonwu was third on the team with 88 tackles, bringing an ability to impact the running game.” (Lindy’s)

Kicker Bobby Puyol was 16 of 18 last year. They are looking for a new punter . They didn’t score on a kick return last year and gained a net of 2 yards all season returning punts. It’s not exactly a dynamic team. But, per Lindys “The Huskies are taking on the personality of their head coach: rugged and tough” They don’t turn the ball over and force you to do so, (+9). They were the only team to beat Houston Last year, 20-17. And Houston already was the sort of high-powered offensive team we aspire to be. SI: “UCONN dealt Houston it’s only loss last year by playing smashmouth football. That’s the game plan to beat the Cougars. They didn’t have quarterback Greg Ward Jr. for most of the game, which didn’t help, but UCONN still limited their possessions and pushed them around.” If they could do that to Houston, they could do it to SU.

If we are coming into this game 1-2, SU’s confidence level may not be high and Connecticut could prove to be a formidable opponent. A loss here would not only bring back bad memories but put us in quite a hole to start the season and the Babers era.

Last year’s stats and rankings, offensive and defensive:
Rushing yards per game: 124 (114th) vs. 166 (60th)
Passing yards per game: 166 (103rd) vs. 189 (20th)
Total Yards per game: 310 (123rd) vs. 355 (33rd)
Scoring per game: 17 (121st) vs. 19.5 (15th)
Turnover Margin: +9 (15th)
Total Sacks: 21 (97th) vs. 37 (107th)
 
October

Saturday, October 1, TBA at the Meadowlands vs. NOTRE DAME TV: TBA

Hopefully, we’ll at least be 2-2 going into this game because it may be awhile before we are ready to beat the Irish, who went 10-3 last year. They are talking about making the national championship playoff this year. Lindys under potential problems wrote: “The biggest issue is the lack of leadership for a program desperate for big personalities”. We should have such problems.

The Irish don’t have to look for a quarterback – they just have to decide on one. Malik Zaire threw for 313 yards and 3TDs in an opening demolition of Texas but then broke his ankle. DeShone Kizer then led the team to nine more wins. Two point losses to Clemson and Stanford prevented the Irish from going 12-0. Then they got beat in the bowl game by Ohio State. Kizer completed 63% of his passes for 2884 yards, 21TDs and 10 int. He ran for 520 yards and 10TDs while Zaire got 103 yards but didn’t score. So yes, they are “multiple”. Sophomore Brandon Wimbush may be a bigger talent than either of them. That’s the way things are at Notre Dame. But it’s also the way things are that they lost their top three receivers and it’s not clear if Corey Robinson, after a series of concussions, will be available. Their top returning receiver is Torii Hunter Jr. who had 28 receptions for 363 yards and 2TDs. Yes, he’s the son of the former major league center fielder.

Another early injury was Tarean Folston, who rushed for 889 yards and 6TDs two years ago before tearing his ACL in last year’s opener. He’s back and so is his replacement, Josh Adams who had 835 yards and 6TDs, including a 98 yarder, in Tarean’s absence. There are questions about their offensive line. An opposing coach told ESPN: “I don’t think they’re built at the line of scrimmage for a championship. I don’t know if they’ve developed well enough or are tough enough. Notre Dame’s perception is big, strong dudes – and they aren’t.” Which doesn’t mean they aren’t big and strong enough for Syracuse.

Their defense was too complicated last season, by consensus. DC Brian VanGorder came in from the NFL and tried to install a complicated scheme. An opposing coach told ESPN: “This is hard for us to prepare for but it apparently is very hard for them to get right as well. Many of the big plays against the 2015 defense were missed assignments in the secondary.” Lindy’s says “it’s not clear if Van Gorder will tone it down but he might not have to because the players who remain are more fluent in his third year system.“ SI’s “opposing coach” on Van Gorder: “Brian Van Gorder is like everybody else on 1st and 2nd down, but he’s more exotic that almost anybody on third down. He’s got different fronts and they blitz from everywhere. You have to get out in space and make them miss or max-protect and beat them one-on-one downfield.” Dino Baber’s system is all about getting into space and we have guys who could make them miss. Max-protecting may be another issue, however.

They lost two linebackers who were team captains, thus the leadership issue. Nyles Morgan, a freshman AA two years ago but a reserve last year, takes over in the middle. In the line “End Isaac Rochell and nose tackle Jarron Jones have NFL potential.” Remember Jarron Jones?. SI describes Jones, who is 6-5 ½ 315: “Jones Length not only makes him difficult to contend with in interior spaces but also makes him a special teams weapon. He has blocked four field goal attempts in his career.” They will have three new starters in the secondary but one of them is a 5 star safety prospect Max Redfield.

This could be the shoot-out against a ranked team we need to tell the nation that we’re back on the map. Or it could be a message to us about how far we have to go to get back on the map.

Last year’s stats and rankings, offensive and defensive:
Rushing yards per game: 208 (28th) vs. 176 (72nd)
Passing yards per game: 259 (35th) vs. 197 (27th)
Total Yards per game: 466 (27th) vs. 373 (45th)
Scoring per game: 34 (34th) vs. 24 (39th)
Turnover Margin: -6 (102nd)
Total Sacks: 25 (74th) vs. 26 (59th)


Saturday, October 8, TBA at WAKE FOREST TV: TBA

When you play the one team your predecessor went undefeated against, you need to win. Scott Shafer beat the Demon Deacons 13-0, 30-7 and 30-17 so Dino Babers will want this one bad. When pundits talk about the worst programs in the ACC, they rate either Wake or Syracuse at the bottom. Without our wins over them, it would be just us. Babers was hired to get us out of the bottom of the standings so this is a “must” win.

It’s also a game against his predecessor at Bowling Green, Dave Clawson who has been able to claw his way to only 6 victories in two years here. Babers will want to prove that he’s going to be more successful in the ACC than Clawson. Remember that Clawson at BG was the better defensive coach, Babers the better offensive coach. Connecticut went for a defensive coach and can’t score. Same with Wake.

Like Connecticut, they averaged 17 points a game last year. Quarterback John Wofford was decent, at best last year: 61%, 1791 yards, 9TDs11int but he’s not a dual threat: 67 yards rushing, although he scored 3TDs. “Their young receiving corps featured the most receptions among freshman players (131) of any team in the nation.” (Lindy’s) Cortez Lewis was 47-611-4, Chucky Wade 33-348-1 and Tabari Hines 32 368-3. Those youthful playmakers suggest that we’d better beat Clawson now because things could be changing for the better in Winston Salem.

They could hardly get worse in the running game, which was 123rd in the county, (of 127 teams), with 105 yard per game last year, which was actually an improvement over the previous year, when they average an absurd 40 yards per game. Tyler Bell was their best with 451 yards, (2.5) and a single touchdown. The line has 4 of 5 starters returning. Is that a good thing? “These guys get knocked back and they can’t create any space. They’re under-manned but they are also at a disadvantage in the style in which they are asked to block. You can’t take a guy who is not as physically talented as the player that he’s going against and make him go lateral. The guy’s getting his butt kicked” (opposing coach to ESPN)

Unlike Connecticut, they gave up 25 points a game. DE Duke Fjiofor (6-4 275), may be a coming star: he led the team in sacks last year despite missing the first five games of the year. They have only one returning linebacker but Marquel Lee led the team with 10 tackles for a loss. Safety Ryan Janvion has 282 career tackles and cornerback Brad Wilson was second in the league in “passes defended” with 18. (Do you just love the new stats?)

An old fashioned stat: Mike Weaver missed 8 for 18 field goals. They are looking for a new punter. They averaged 18 yards a kick-off return and 4 yards a punt return. Again, not a dynamic team. Will we be one by the time we play them?

Last year’s stats and rankings, offensive and defensive:
Rushing yards per game: 105 (122nd) vs. 161 (52nd)
Passing yards per game: 228 (60th) vs. 202.5 (32nd)
Total Yards per game: 333 (113th) vs. 364 (38th)
Scoring per game: 17 (119th) vs. 25 (43rd)
Turnover Margin: -13 (120th)
Total Sacks: 20 (94th) vs. 40 (122nd)


Saturday, October 15, TBA in the Dome vs. VIRGINIA TECH TV: TBA

Another old enemy reappears on our schedule. We had quite a rivalry with the Hokies in the old days, featuring some of our most memorable victories and some of our most ignominious defeats. We saw the best of it up here as many of the games were classics: 28-9 in 1992, 28-20 in 1994, 52-21 in 1996, 28-26 in 1998, (McNabb to Brominski), 14-22 in 2000, (Freeney vs. Vick), 50-42 in 2002 (3OT). In Blacksburg is was a different story, (24-45, 7-31, 3-31, 0-62, 22-14, 7-51). Now we’ve got them back in the Dome for the first time in 14 years for what should be an intriguing game.

Virginia Tech decided to do exactly what we did: bring in a guy who had success running a hurry-up offense at a lower level. Justin Fuentes was the coach at Memphis the last four years. He had a Briles-like record there: 4-8, 3-9, 10-3 and 9-4. He had a 15 game winning streak until losing 4 of his last 5 games there- to some very good teams, (11-2 Navy, 13-1 Houston, 10-4 Temple and 7-6 Auburn in the bowl game). The Tigers scored 40 points a game last year but he inherits an offense that was already scoring 31 points a game. They are looking for a new quarterback. Back-up Brendan Motley saw a lot of action, completing 56% for 1155 yards, 11TDs and 7int. He’ll try to fight off top JUCO Jerod Evans and high school blue chipper Dwayne Lawson. Fuente was Andy Dalton’s QB coach at TCU before developing Paxton Lynch at Memphis and he seems to have plenty to work with.

Isaiah Ford had 75 catches for 1164 yards and 11 TDs. Cam Phillips had 49-582-2 and Bucky Hodges, a slash-type player who played tight-end, H-back, wide receiver and even a little QB, had 40-530-6. A coach told ESPN about Ford: “He’s dynamic, moves the chains, and makes big plays.” Ford is the program’s first 1000 yard receiver. Under Fuentes, he won’t be the last.

They have an exceptional running back in Travon McMillian, who gained 1,043 yards (5.2 a crack) and scored 7 times). Through five games he had only 32 touches for 223 yards with no scores. Then he averaged 117 yards and a touchdown a game the rest of the way.

I’ve said that I would have liked to see a Babers offense with a Shafer defense, if that were possible. Virginia Tech is essentially doing that as Fuentes has kept the great Bud Foster as his defensive coordinator after Foster gave Frank Beamer outstanding defenses all those years. “The defense continues to be led by a deep and talented crop of defensive tackles” (Lindy’s) Nigel Williams and Woody Bacon will be the starters. 6-5 270 Vinny Mihota blocked a kick vs. UNC and forced a big fumble vs. Pitt. “Since 2004, no program has more sacks than Virginia Tech’s 439.” (ESPN) They may have a weakness in the secondary. An opposing coach told ESPN: “They don’t have the secondary they’ve had in the past…The safeties traditionally are very good but the safeties in that secondary, (last year) didn’t have the same impact. “

“Fuente has pledged to continue Tech’s Beamer Ball tradition of excelling on special teams. He brought coordinator James Shibest with him from Memphis to manage that unit.” (Lindy’s). Greg Stroman took a punt back 67 yards for a score last year.

Virginia Tech is trying to do some of the same things we are trying to do. But they have a program that has had 23 consecutive winning seasons so they are starting from a much stronger base and working with more talent. And retaining Bud Foster means that their defense won’t skip a beat while ours is trying to learn a whole new scheme that may not be appropriate for them. But it’s in the Dome, so who knows?

Last year’s stats and rankings, offensive and defensive:
Rushing yards per game: 159 (81st) vs. 181 (75th)
Passing yards per game: 226 (64th) vs. 189 (19th)
Total Yards per game: 385 (74th) vs. 370 (44th)
Scoring per game: 31 (53rd) vs. 26 (59th)
Turnover Margin: +4 (39th)
Total Sacks: 26 (70th) vs. 34 (100th)


Saturday, October 22, TBA at BOSTON COLLEGE TV: TBA

Still another defense-oriented team that can’t score so they will want to make the game a slog through the mud, (and that would help), rather than a shoot-out. The Eagles had the #1 defense in the entire country last year, leading you to wonder what their numbers would have been if they had gotten any help at all from their offense. It wasn’t enough to win in modern football. They beat Maine, Howard and Northern Illinois and lost to everyone else, including Syracuse, who broke an 8 game losing streak against them. They actually outscored their opponents, on average 17-15 but their losses came by an average score of 11-21. But they held Florida State to 14 points, Duke to 9, Louisville to 17 and Notre Dame to 19 points. The Eagles had talons but a broken beak.

Let’s start with the defense, which returns 8 starters but have a new DC, Jim Reid, from Iowa. Linebacker Matt Milano, “…is dynamic, quick and will be the leader”, (Lindy’s) Connor Strachan was the second leading tackler and takes over the MIKE, where he “might be even more physical and athletic than (his predecessor, (Steven) Daniels, a second team all-ACC linebacker last year” (ESPN). An opposing coach told ESPN “Their front seven are always big guys, very physical. They play together very well. They are more athletic in the secondary than they have been in the past.” Per Lindys, “Safety John Johnson and Cornerback Isaac Yiadom hung with some of the best receivers in the ACC last year and they’re back…”

There’s some rebuilding in the line but Harold Landry had 4.5 sacks from one defensive end position. Zach Allen, (No, not THAT Zach Allen), on the other side is “very quick and looking to have a breakthrough season…Truman Gutaphel could be a true run-stuffing weapon” (Lindy’s) He’s by far the biggest lineman at 6-3 281. The others are 265, 264 and 245. The #1 defense is all about speed and conditioning. Maybe that’s a good sign for us.

They have a good place kicker in Colton Lichtenberg. They need a new punter, (and teams like this need good ones), but Michael Walker is a fine kick returner.

The big question, then, is: can they get this offense going? It was a mess last season. Lindys: “The offensive line is still major question mark, as it struggled mightily in 2015. The wide receiver group has been inconsistent, with several dropped passes and improper routes last year.” (Of course, if they did that consistently, then they weren’t inconsistent.)

They used four different quarterbacks last year, all of whom completed between 33-52% of their passes, (the 33% guy was the one who threw the most passes, 82.) They produced 1,334 yards passing in 12 games, (111 per game, with 7 games where they failed to reach 100 yards), 8TDs and 9 interceptions. Three of those four were freshman: John Fadule, (who has had concussion problems), Troy Flutie, (Yup, Doug’s son- but he’s now suspended from the team for drunk driving), and Darius Wade, who is expected to battle Kentucky grad transfer Patrick Towles for the job. Towles hit 56% for the Wildcats last year with 9TDs and 14 interceptions, so it’s not clear he’s the answer, either. But he’s a load at 6-5, 253.

Jon Hillman ran for 860 yards and 13TDs as a freshman but was injured last year. Baldwinsville’s Tyler Rouse rushed for 426 yards and 7TDs, including 111 yards and two touchdowns against SU. Jeff Smith ran for 450 yards at 6.3 yards per crack and 6TDs- including 117 yards against Syracuse. He’s now listed as a wide receiver. Thadd Smith is the leading returning receiver with- believe it or not- 17 but he has some speed and could stretch the field a bit and Tommy Sweeney has some talent at tight end.

It wouldn’t take a lot of offense to make this a good team. If they can at least get something going they could be a formidable opponent on the road.

Last year’s stats and rankings, offensive and defensive:
Rushing yards per game: 164 (74th) vs. 83 (2nd)
Passing yards per game: 111 (124th) vs. 171.5 (6th)
Total Yards per game: 276 (125th) vs. 254 (1st)
Scoring per game: 17 (120th) vs. 15 (4th)
Turnover Margin: +3 (46th)
Total Sacks: 34 (18th) vs.28 (79th)


(We have the next week off and will probably need it.)
 
November

Saturday, November 5, TBA at CLEMSON TV: TBA

Now it gets difficult. All we have to do is travel to play a team that almost won the national championship last season and who may well win it this season. The interesting thing is that we’ve competed very well with these guys the last two years. In 2014 our 3-9 team led their 10-3 team 6-3 at halftime before falling behind on two third period field goals and eventually losing 6-16 because we just couldn’t move the ball, punting it 9 times and turning it over 3 times. They had a heck of a defense that year and we had a very good one. It helped that DeShaun Watson was on the shelf with an injury. He wasn’t last year when we had one of those two amazing performances against highly ranked teams in the Dome with our 4th strong quarterback, Zach Mahoney. The Tigers quickly scored two TDs and then the Orange quickly answered with two TDs of their own. Clemson got the next two touchdowns and the teams traded field goals for a 17-31 halftime score. Twice in the second half we got to within a touchdown before they kicked a field goal to make the final 27-37. They had much the better of the stats in both games: 170-375 in 2014 and 322-570 last year. Most of the difference was in passing yardage: 162-577 in the two games. Rushing yardage was 330-368. Turnovers were 5-7. The games at least show that the gap between a mid-level Division 1A team and a national championship contender is not so great that it’s impossible for a team like Syracuse to compete with a team like Clemson. And a Nebraska-like upset that would put us back on the map is not impossible.

Of course, we are SU and they are Clemson, meaning that they will probably have a more highly-recruited player at every position. The results the last two years are probably deceiving: they didn’t have Watson in 2014 and they had no reason to expect much from us last year and probably didn’t play their best game. They are primed for a title run and we may just be cannon fodder this year. You can’t keep putting you head in the lion’s mouth and expect nothing bad to happen. And we will be in the Lion’s mouth- not in the Dome- for this one.

DeShaun Watson appears to be the favorite for the Heisman Trophy, although there will be other strong contenders. A lot will depend on what their teams do. Watson completed fully 68% of his passes for 4,104 yards, 35TDs and 13 interceptions. He also rushed for 1105 yards, (5.3 per carry) and 12 scores. He accounted for 478 of Clemson’s 550 yards against Alabama in the national title game. He’s got good size at 6-2 210. He’s the real deal. An opposing coach told SI: “You have to limit his explosive plays eliminating the run-pass options they use off of the inside zone by being firm inside. You want Watson to carry the ball- then you’ve got to hit him. Passing-wise, you’ve got to force him to play into the pocket because when he gets outside, he’s going to create big plays with his feet. You must do a great job with your rush-contain lanes and try to alter his sight angles.” (OK, Dino?)

Wayne Gallman set a school record with 1,527 rushing yards, (5.4) and scored 13 times. He’s got good size, too at 6-1 215. The receiving corps loses Charone Peaks, who was second on the team with 50 catches, but they had no less than 8 guys with 20 or more catches, one of whom is Artavis Scott, who led the team with 93 catches for 901 yards, (a surprisingly low average), and 6 scores. And they get back Mike Williams, (no, not that Mike Williams), who was injured last year but had 57 catches for 1030 yards and 6 scores in 2014. The line is anchored by sophomore Mitch Hyatt, already one of the best left tackles in the country. Center Jay Guillermo is a rock at center and there’s plenty of depth.” (Lindy’s). But that opposing coach told SI “The offensive line isn’t going to knock anybody off the ball”.

They lose 7 starters on defense which offers hope but not when you consider that they also replaced 7 yarders last year and had the 10th best defense against yards and led the country with 126 tackles for a loss and had 48 sacks, which was second. This is Clemson, where they can replace people. An opposing coach told ESPN: “Run draws and quick three step drops so you don’t have to worry about the pressure. RTP: ‘Refuse to participate’ if they are blitzing up the A-gaps, then I’m not running there, I’m running power read and option, running stretch to take advantage.” (Got that, Dino?)

They lost their star ends, Shaq Lawson and Kevin Dodd, who had 48 of those TFLs. Austin Bryant is of similar size (6-4 265 and had 23 TFLs of his own. They lost linebacker T. J. Goodson, “leaving a huge hole in the heart of the defense”. (ESPN) SI introduces us to Dexter Lawrence a 6-6 340 pound tackle who was the #2 overall recruit in the country. He can run a “nearly five second 40 yards dash” but likely won’t need to. Back to ESPN: “Senior Ben Bouleware, (not related to the Florida State Boulewares), is the lone returning starter at linebacker and he’ll lead a group with talent but little experience. The defensive backfield is undergoing the biggest change as three starters left early for the NFL”. (Lindy’s) Oh, the price of being a top program…. SI is high on senior tackle Carlos Watkins and insists Cordrea Tankersly “is probably better than departed cornerback MacKenzie Alexander.” (I’ll bet he’s great in a drinking contest too. – Just kidding, Cordrea, if you are reading this.)

That coach also told SI: “Defensive coordinator Brent Venables does a great job but he’s late getting his calls in. That’s because they’re probably as good as anybody at stealing signals and Venables is waiting to see you offensive call.” With our offense, he won’t have too long to wait – or to make his call.

An opposing coach told ESPN “They’re the most talented team in the ACC so we’ve got to be smarter than they are and we’ve got to out-scheme them. And you’ve got to win the special teams game – because you hope they are such prima donnas that they don’t want to do special teams.” Greg Huegel made 27 of 32 field goal attempts last season, (the number of attempts tells you a lot about this team). Punter Andy Teasdell only averaged 39.5 but only punted four times a game, (which also tells you about this team). Scott returns both kickoffs and punts. He averaged 24.7 yards on the former but only 4.2 on the latter.

I found a weakness: The Tigers ranked 115th in the country on kick return defense. Calling the “Salt Badger”!

Last year’s stats and rankings, offensive and defensive:
Rushing yards per game: 223 (21st) vs. 125 (18th)
Passing yards per game: 291.5 (23rd) vs. 188 (17th)
Total Yards per game: 514.5 (11th) vs. 313 (10th)
Scoring per game: 38.5 (16th ) vs. 22 (24th)
Turnover Margin: -2 (83rd)
Total Sacks: 48 (2nd) vs. 18 (18th)


Saturday, November 12, TBA in the Dome vs. NORTH CAROLINA STATE TV: TBA

And here come the Wolfpack who delight in torturing the Orange. They are 8-1 against us all time and I remember each one of them: 20-43, 22-28, 0-38, 19-27, 31-32, 17-38, 24-10, 17-24, 29-42. Nothing seems to matter. We are 1-2 against them when we had the best won loss record and 0-6 when they did. We are 0-4 against them in Syracuse and 1-4 in Raleigh. Our one win came in a season when they’d had a lot of injuries, so I guess that matters. But the Wolfpack has always gorged themselves on the Orange: those 1997-98 losses to them are two of the most painful defeats I’ve ever experienced in sports. Are there more to come?

Last year the Pack chased easy prey early, (Troy, Eastern Kentucky, Old Dominion and South Alabama, (all of whom they beat by a combined 185-48) and then went 3-5 in conference (220-237) before losing the “Belk Bowl” to Mississippi State 28-51. How good were they, really? (Better than we were.) How good will they be this year? A partial answer can be seen from the fact that Coach Dave Doeren brought in a new offensive staff with a new system.

They have to replace star QB Jacoby Brissett, who passed for 20 scores and ran for 6 more. Jalan McClendon “can throw the ball through the car wash and it won’t get wet, but he’ll throw it to the other team, too.” Jakobi Meyers has an even more similar name and “he’s the best running quarterback Doeren has had since he arrived.” (both ESPN). OC Eli Drinkwitz, (has he ever met Cordrea Tankersly?) was at Boise State but before that he learned the spread under Gus Malzahn at Auburn, where they ran the ball down the other team’s throat so this could go either way- to the passer or to the runner.

The Pack hasn’t had a 1,000 yard rusher since 2002. Matt Dates “was on track with 865 yards in 8 games…before a foot injury cost him the final five games.” They haven’t had a 1000 receiver since 2003 and nobody in the Dueren era has more than 620. Tight end Jaylon Samuels led the team with 597 last year. Nyheim Hines had a 100 yard kick-off return against Clemson and 1419 all-purpose yards last year. Both Samuels and Hines played some running back as well and Samuels led the team with 16TDs. What role they will play in the new offense has yet to be determined but they will have a big one.

An opposing coach told ESPN “They don’t have guys outside who stretch the field vertically and make you afraid of playing man-to-man so that allows you to overload or play to their strength, which si their run game.” The offensive line lost three starters . One will be center Joseph Scelfo, a grad transfer from South Alabama who decided, after last year’s 13-63 loss to the Pack to join ‘em because he couldn’t beat ‘em.

Their defense was #29 in the country last year, although the weak non-conference schedule helped. Three defensive linemen are back, Bradley Chubb, BJ Hill and Kentavius Street, and they provide “strength and leadership up front”. (Lindys). An opposing coach told ESPN: “If you’re really good up front, you go nose to nose with them and you go right at them. If you don’t feel you can handle that, then what kind of perimeter game do you have and can you fatigue those guys?” We ought to be able to fatigue Bradley Chubb, at least. (Just kidding, Bradley, if you’re reading this.)

Two more juniors are starting linebackers: Jerod Fernandez and Airius Moore. Lindys: “There’s hope they have learned on the job and are ready for more productive season seasons”. It didn’t say if they meant ‘additional productive seasons or a season that is more productive than the last one. I think the latter. Lindys: “The secondary got chewed up last year and had too many missed assignments, especially in the safety positons.” I like the sound of that.

Last year’s stats and rankings, offensive and defensive:
Rushing yards per game: 202 (30th) vs. 147.5 (39th)
Passing yards per game: 211 (79th) vs. 203 (36th)
Total Yards per game: 413 (57th) vs. 351 (29th)
Scoring per game: 33 (42nd) vs. 26 (52nd)
Turnover Margin: +9 (15th)
Total Sacks: 32 (35th) vs. 39 (111th)


Saturday, November 19, TBA in the Dome vs. FLORIDA STATE TV: TBA

Clemson has gotten really good but the Noles are still the ‘big dog’ in this conference. Both SI and ESPN project them to both make the “Final Four” – and we have to play both of them. At least we’ll have a good idea of where we stand- or where we fall. Their game against each other, (in Tallahassee October 29), may be the top game of the regular season.

FSU returns all 11 offensive starters. Last year wasn’t an exceptional year for them on offense- they were 51st in the country in yards with 424 and 47th in points with 32 a game. But that’s still very productive and figures to get better. That offense centers around Dalvin Cook, perhaps the best pure running back in the country and a major Heisman Trophy candidate, (that could be decided on 10/29). Cook was limited by a hamstring injury last year, missing a game and being on a “pitch-count”, (for how many pitches he took from the quarterback) in his last eight games. As a result he only ran for 1,691 yards at 7.4 yards per crack and scored 19 touchdowns. Since he’s healthy this year, we’ll get to see what he can really do!

An opposing coach told SI: “You try to slow him down. You can’t stop him. You’ve got to limit him to singles and doubles because if he gets it going, he’s going to get home runs.” (Sign him up for my Mets!) “He’s great at finding the crease and exploding and exploding through the hole. And on those mid-zone or wide zone toss plays, he has a lot of freedom to find that crease.” How many creases are there in a Tampa 2? Another opposing coach told ESPN: “You have to disguise what you’re doing so they can’t get a bead on you. You’ve got to mix coverages, your fronts and your pressures. With everything you do, you have to make sure you’re out-numbering the box.” Can a Tampa 2 out-number the box?

The quarterback situation continues to be unsettled, but that may change. (Keep in mind that this will be the 11th game of the season and a lot of things that were uncertain in September may be long decided by then- especially for the teams with the most talent). Sean Maguire took over for the ineffective Everett Golston last year but was injured and didn’t take part in the spring, leaving openings for talented youngsters Deondre Francois and Malik Henry, as well as back-up J. J. Cosentino. Maguire and Cosentino are drop—back guys, Francois and Henry multi-threat guys, so it depends on where they want to go offensively. We’d probably like to have any of them. Cook made an odd comment: “We did return all 11 on offense,” Cook said. “It could be a plus and it could be a minus. But we working towards it to be a plus.” (The Juice) It sounds like he wasn’t too impressed with his teammates last year. He missed the Syracuse game but his replacement, big Jacques Patrick, (6-2 231), ran for 162 yards and 3 scores in his stead. That’s Florida State for you.

That opposing coach told SI: “They didn’t have anybody that scared us last year at wideout – they were just good college receivers. But the Cook effect can help that. Teams have to worry about him so much that they may not worry about those receivers.” Another opposing coach, (or was it the same guy?) told ESPN “They’re so big up front and can mash you but I wonder if they will cut it loose. How good can they be? That style of offense allows you to stay in the game if you can bring down the run game.” Travis Rudolph is their best receiver, ((59R 916yds, 7TDs). But Kermit Whitfield isn’t far behind, (57R 798yds 6TDs). Again, we wouldn’t mind having their problems. Rudolph had a huge game against us last year with TD catches of 75, 45 and 19 yards, set up by Patrick’s huge game.

FSU was the only FBS not to allow more than 25 points in any game last year. They averaged 17.5, 9th in the country. That coach told SI: “They’re getting back to having speed on the edge, like the old Florida State defense used to. They’ve got some of those bodies on their team. “. That ESPN coach: “They are getting back to the kind of defensive line that Florida State has traditionally had every year. They’re a little more athletic than they’ve been the last few years, especially at defensive end and they have more experience returning”. Hmmm…..maybe it was the same coach.

Two of those bodies belong to DeMarcus Walker and Josh Sweat, the defensive ends. (For fun, I’m going to type that again: “Josh Sweat”.) They combined for 99 tackles and 12.5 sacks. Linebacker Ro’Derrick Hsokins had 52 tackles. (Ro! Adrian!) but the star there may be Matthew Thomas, the #6 player in the country coming out of high school, per ESPN three years ago who emerged from injuries and NCAA suspensions to dominate in the spring. That SI coach: “Derwin James means there’s another guy that the offensive coordinator and the quarterback have to be aware of on every play. He’s one of those dynamic playmakers who can completely disrupt a play. They’re going to miss cornerback Jalen Ramsey. He made a bunch of big plays on the boundary. They’re sound and they’re physical up front. They’ll make it a fistfight even if you want to play basketball on grass.”

The Noles lost college football’s all-time field goal kicker, Robert Aguayo, who made 69 of 78 in his career. But here comes his bother Ricky, who hit 45 and 46 yarders is the spring game. They are looking for a new punter. They always have plenty of fast return men.

Last year’s stats and rankings, offensive and defensive:
Rushing yards per game: 168 (69th) vs. 145 (37th)
Passing yards per game: 256 (38th) vs. 192 (21st)
(Interesting that even with Cook, this was actually more of a passing team than a running team. Cook - or Patrick - was the whole running attack.)
Total Yards per game: 424 (51st) vs. 337 (19th)
Scoring per game: 32 (47th) vs. 17.5 (9th)
Turnover Margin: Even (66th)
Total Sacks: 32 (35th) vs. 26 (58th)


Saturday, November 26, TBA at PITTSBURGH TV: TBA

Syracuse and Pittsburgh have always been major recruiting rivals for many of the same players and thus they have rarely bene good at the same time. Since the series became a regular thing in 1955, Pitt won the first two but then SU won 11 of 16. Then Pitt won 11 in a row, Syracuse 16 of 18 with a tie and, since 2002, Pitt has won 12 of 14 with our two wins coming by a touchdown in overtime and by a single point four years ago. They went through a huge upheaval in their coaching staff when they somehow went through 6 coaches in 5 years. But we were unable to take advantage of that to turn the series around due to our own upheavals. Now Pat Narduzzi seems to have given them some stability and they are favored to continue their dominance, at least for another year. The good news is that this game won’t really matter unless we’ve performed well enough to have a chance at a bowl: if we haven’t we’ll just be playing out the string and the fans will already be into the basketball season. But, just in case it matters:

The Panthers broke a string of four straight 6-6 season to go 8-4 in the regular season before losing to Navy in a bowl game. They are a power-running team that passes when they want to. Bullish (6-2 240) James Connor, had dealt with injuries and illness and it remains to be seen if he can return to his former level of dominance. And dominant he was: in 2014 he rushed for 1,765 yards and 26 touchdowns. He’s dealing with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and “exercising his way through it”. A coach told ESPN: “he’s one of the best backs I’ve seen. He’s strong, hard to tackle and that style wears on you. After a while, you don’t want to hit him anymore. You don’t see a lot of guys like him these days.” Everybody’s rooting for the young man but if he can’t make his comeback there’s always bullish 6-2 230 Qadree Ollison, who, in Connor’s absence last year rushed for 1121 yards and 11 scores.

Quarterback Nate Peterman transferred in from Tennessee to throw for 2,287 yards and 20TDs with only 8 interceptions but he’s lost the dynamic Tyler Boyd, who had 91 catches for 906 yard and 6TDs as well as his tight end, J. P. Holtz, who was third on the team with 24-350-4. ESPN: “Yes, he threw for 20TDs but his yards per attempt and yards per completion were both in the bottom half of the ACC QBs. Peterman will have more pressure on him with top receiver Tyler Boyd off to the NFL so he’ll need to find ways to make plays downfield to compliment Pitts top rushing attack.” That is kind of strange- a strong rushing game generally gives you a better chance to throw the ball down the field and stats like average gain per attempt and completion are generally high in that situation. Boyd’s an NFL caliber wide-out who averaged under 10 yards per catch. Pitt gets four starters back in their offensive line. Tackle Adam Blanowaty “is one of the top left tackles in the ACC”. (Lindy’s ) He and Dorian Johnson will get some AA consideration. (Nunes)

Narduzzi “came to Pitt with the rep as an elite defensive mind”. (ESPN) Lindys: “The Panthers are thin at linebacker and defensive line. Any team coached by Narduzzi is going to figure it out on that side of the ball, but a few key injuries could sink a unit without much depth.” A coach told ESPN: “Schematically, it’s difficult because he sends you a lot of problems. He’ll do a lot of twists, stunts and blitzes in base. But it does put some pressure on the back end of the defense. There are opportunities for big plays.” Narduzzi is desperate enough to switch positons around to get more competition and depth. At his outside “star” linebacker spot “the spring competition was between two former safeties and a former wide receiver.”

Ejuan Price, the ACC sack leader, was granted a 6th year of eligibility and will be at one end spot. DeWayne Hendrix was a blue-chip recruit for Tennessee before transferring to Pitt and will be the other end. Lindys: “Starting middle linebacker Matt Galambos and senior Mike Capara were two of the most productive plyers on defense last year.” Cornerback Antoine Maddox led the team in interceptions and passes defended and safety Jordan Whitehead will be “one of the team’s best players”.

The Panthers could get off on the wrong track as they start with Villanova, (remember them?), Penn State, Oklahoma State and North Carolina. But they will have had a chance to recover from that by the end of the year and they have this one at home, where we haven’t beaten them since 2001.

Last year’s stats and rankings, offensive and defensive:
Rushing yards per game: 187 (44th) vs. 149 (40th)
Passing yards per game: 191 (99th) vs. 215 (54th)
(Another “run oriented team” that passed for more yards than they ran. I think it has to do with having a singular “feature” back that does all the running.)
Total Yards per game: 378 (82nd) vs. 363 (37th)
Scoring per game: 28 (68th) vs. 26 (57th)
Turnover Margin: Even (66th)
Total Sacks: 37 (16th) vs. 29 (73rd)
 
2020 Vision

I believe Dino Babers and his staff will get this program turned around and provide a lot of exiting football for Syracuse fansI also believe they will use the Carrier Dome the way it should have been used from the beginning- the perfect place for wide-open offense in front of a packed house of screaming fans. . I think they will make us the Baylor of the North, (on the field).

But Dino Babers keeps talking about how things will really get going in the second year, how he wants “belief without evidence” and about Novocain, which takes a while to take effect. He doesn’t expect immediate success and he doesn’t want the fans to, either. That dream he wanted in our heads was about what he’s going to build, not what he’s going to present from the opening game.

We have significant question marks on this team that could turn out to be genuine weaknesses, especially at offensive tackle and defensive end. We are thin is some areas and could not sustain many injuries, (especially defensive tackle). We are learning new schemes on either side of the ball. I think we’ll have some exciting offensive games but also some disappointing ones and our punting is another question mark. I think our defense has a lot of good young players on it but I believe they are going to have trouble stopping a lot of the teams we will play this year.

This schedule is a meat-grinder. We play two of the four teams that are projected to play in the national championship tournament, (Clemson and Florida State). We may play 3-4 other ranked teams (Louisville, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh). We will play several teams with strong defense who may have the running game to grind it out and keep our offense on the side=lines, (Connecticut, Boston College, Pittsburgh). South Florida will be good and NC State loves to torture us. Wake Forest isn’t good but they are an ACC team and Colgate could be one of the top FCS teams this year. There won’t be many games where we could play at less than our best and still win.

I think Baber’s start here will resemble what happened with Art Briles at Baylor more than what happened with Dino Babers at Eastern Illinois and Boling Green. I think it will be a bumpy ride, at least for the first year. Then we will get steadily better for the next 2-3 years than have a major breakthrough. Those wonderful things he wanted us to visualize will come by 2020 and then we’ll have the greatest show on earth.
 
2020 Vision

I believe Dino Babers and his staff will get this program turned around and provide a lot of exiting football for Syracuse fansI also believe they will use the Carrier Dome the way it should have been used from the beginning- the perfect place for wide-open offense in front of a packed house of screaming fans. . I think they will make us the Baylor of the North, (on the field).

But Dino Babers keeps talking about how things will really get going in the second year, how he wants “belief without evidence” and about Novocain, which takes a while to take effect. He doesn’t expect immediate success and he doesn’t want the fans to, either. That dream he wanted in our heads was about what he’s going to build, not what he’s going to present from the opening game.

We have significant question marks on this team that could turn out to be genuine weaknesses, especially at offensive tackle and defensive end. We are thin is some areas and could not sustain many injuries, (especially defensive tackle). We are learning new schemes on either side of the ball. I think we’ll have some exciting offensive games but also some disappointing ones and our punting is another question mark. I think our defense has a lot of good young players on it but I believe they are going to have trouble stopping a lot of the teams we will play this year.

This schedule is a meat-grinder. We play two of the four teams that are projected to play in the national championship tournament, (Clemson and Florida State). We may play 3-4 other ranked teams (Louisville, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh). We will play several teams with strong defense who may have the running game to grind it out and keep our offense on the side=lines, (Connecticut, Boston College, Pittsburgh). South Florida will be good and NC State loves to torture us. Wake Forest isn’t good but they are an ACC team and Colgate could be one of the top FCS teams this year. There won’t be many games where we could play at less than our best and still win.

I think Baber’s start here will resemble what happened with Art Briles at Baylor more than what happened with Dino Babers at Eastern Illinois and Boling Green. I think it will be a bumpy ride, at least for the first year. Then we will get steadily better for the next 2-3 years than have a major breakthrough. Those wonderful things he wanted us to visualize will come by 2020 and then we’ll have the greatest show on earth.
:)
 
Was taking a look at what we are are going to lose after this season and combined with Dinos thoughts of everything coming together in year 2, the future is really looking bright. We're really only going to be taking a hit on the O-line and some speed in Brisly. Otherwise we're going to be returning a ton of experience and a very high percentage of the expected 2 deep on both sides of the ball.
 
Have you looked at next year's schedule? Don't expect a jump of wins for next year. At Louisvile, at Florida State, at Miami, at LSU, etc.
 
I know Joe Scelfo. He was Steven's host at South Alabama. Joe is good. He was one of the few, if not only, bright spots on South's line.
 
Have you looked at next year's schedule? Don't expect a jump of wins for next year. At Louisvile, at Florida State, at Miami, at LSU, etc.

Expecting about a 50% increase from 4 to 6.
 
2020 Vision

I believe Dino Babers and his staff will get this program turned around and provide a lot of exiting football for Syracuse fansI also believe they will use the Carrier Dome the way it should have been used from the beginning- the perfect place for wide-open offense in front of a packed house of screaming fans. . I think they will make us the Baylor of the North, (on the field).

But Dino Babers keeps talking about how things will really get going in the second year, how he wants “belief without evidence” and about Novocain, which takes a while to take effect. He doesn’t expect immediate success and he doesn’t want the fans to, either. That dream he wanted in our heads was about what he’s going to build, not what he’s going to present from the opening game.

We have significant question marks on this team that could turn out to be genuine weaknesses, especially at offensive tackle and defensive end. We are thin is some areas and could not sustain many injuries, (especially defensive tackle). We are learning new schemes on either side of the ball. I think we’ll have some exciting offensive games but also some disappointing ones and our punting is another question mark. I think our defense has a lot of good young players on it but I believe they are going to have trouble stopping a lot of the teams we will play this year.

This schedule is a meat-grinder. We play two of the four teams that are projected to play in the national championship tournament, (Clemson and Florida State). We may play 3-4 other ranked teams (Louisville, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh). We will play several teams with strong defense who may have the running game to grind it out and keep our offense on the side=lines, (Connecticut, Boston College, Pittsburgh). South Florida will be good and NC State loves to torture us. Wake Forest isn’t good but they are an ACC team and Colgate could be one of the top FCS teams this year. There won’t be many games where we could play at less than our best and still win.

I think Baber’s start here will resemble what happened with Art Briles at Baylor more than what happened with Dino Babers at Eastern Illinois and Boling Green. I think it will be a bumpy ride, at least for the first year. Then we will get steadily better for the next 2-3 years than have a major breakthrough. Those wonderful things he wanted us to visualize will come by 2020 and then we’ll have the greatest show on earth.


It would have been quite an adventure watching Dave Warner try to throw the ball 50 times a game.
 
if SS was still coaching and we had this team would anyone be expecting less than 4 wins? really if we had not lost every QB during the season we might well have won 6 last year and then what would expectations be for this team?
 
No doubt the schedule is a big challenge -- even BC and Wake expect to be better this time around, and those are the teams we expect to beat.

But our defense should be much better this season, in every spot but DE. They will need to be opportunistic with fumbles-caused and interceptions, and that seems possible with better experience among the LBs and the secondary. We have some young talent in the line that might be better this time around (Slayton & Clark, in particular).

The Babers offense depends on a QB and 4 receivers. So it comes down to how much Dungey has improved under Babers and OC Sean Lewis. Those two have proven they can coach QBs. Is Mike Lynch a better OL coach than his predecessor, the much maligned Joe Adam? Do we have 4 very good receivers in Ishmael, Estime, Phillips and the grad transfer from Maryland? I see plenty of reasons to be optimistic (7 wins) if Dungey and his receivers stay healthy, and make the improvements we should expect under Dino Babers and his assistants. Will they be good in 2016 -- they better be, because they won't all be here if it takes until mid-2017 to start rolling.
 
4 wins from old staff + more experienced young players + new S&C + new Babers offensive genius - new systems - tougher schedule = +2 wins
 
It would have been quite an adventure watching Dave Warner try to throw the ball 50 times a game.


It will be quite an adventure this season watching the defense play the Tampa 2 without a player who has ever played a down for SU at defensive end. But this is the defense Babers prefers and he has decided to go right to it with what he has, in hopes that it will attract players who want to play in that defense.
 
It will be quite an adventure this season watching the defense play the Tampa 2 without a player who has ever played a down for SU at defensive end. But this is the defense Babers prefers and he has decided to go right to it with what he has, in hopes that it will attract players who want to play in that defense.
We will see how well Ward can play chess against some very talented OC's in the ACC.
 
SWC75 said:
It will be quite an adventure this season watching the defense play the Tampa 2 without a player who has ever played a down for SU at defensive end. But this is the defense Babers prefers and he has decided to go right to it with what he has, in hopes that it will attract players who want to play in that defense.

What's the choice here exactly? Run Shafer's system with a DC who doesn't run Shafer's system hoping the recruits perfect for Ward's system understand?

DE was a problem with or without a new HC, thanks to two dumb players making bad decisions off the field and Ron leaving early.

It boils down to two things:

- Can the existing players pick up a new scheme quick enough (they had 3x the reps to do so)

- How well do our coaches teach (were the reps maximized by good coaching)?
 
What's the choice here exactly? Run Shafer's system with a DC who doesn't run Shafer's system hoping the recruits perfect for Ward's system understand?

DE was a problem with or without a new HC, thanks to two dumb players making bad decisions off the field and Ron leaving early.

It boils down to two things:

- Can the existing players pick up a new scheme quick enough (they had 3x the reps to do so)

- How well do our coaches teach (were the reps maximized by good coaching)?


Which would have been the challenge if we'd switched to a high-powered passing type of attack when the Dome opened, thus my point in the post above. Again, it's the old question of whether you tailor your system to the players you have now or to what you want to do in the future.
 
SWC75 said:
Which would have been the challenge if we'd switched to a high-powered passing type of attack when the Dome opened, thus my point in the post above. Again, it's the old question of whether you tailor your system to the players you have now or to what you want to do in the future.

I think you take as many steps as possibly can towards the system you believe in with the talent you have. As time in the system increases and you recruit talent to the system - it becomes what you envision.
 
It will be quite an adventure this season watching the defense play the Tampa 2 without a player who has ever played a down for SU at defensive end. But this is the defense Babers prefers and he has decided to go right to it with what he has, in hopes that it will attract players who want to play in that defense.

Probably not.

Tampa two is a safe defense that seeks to prevent quick scores.

DE would be an issue no matter what system Babers might be utilize.
 
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