Syracuse-Notre Dame

[TheCusian]

When you watch ND, nothing stands out as excellent but nothing stands out as a weakness either

 

[orangecuse]

I agree, ND does not have any freak athleticism, and at times, have really wondered if they were as good as advertised. But here is what i have kind of put together. They are very susceptible to routes that drag across middle of the field, but are very tough against deep routes. They just don't seem to have that speed to catch up with guys in the middle, but they have to be WR, they still play TE's pretty good (typically a little slower then a WR). They have had a couple injuries early that hurt them in this area. Julian Love is legit, troy pride jr is a liability in my opinion. Maybe he just gets picked on more due to how good Love is, but he always seems to be giving up the bigger plays.

They are pretty good against the run. The DL and LB like to play physical. They get a lot of pressure on QBS, but they don't turn into a ton of sacks. So if your QB is mobile, he will be having to move a lot, but should be able to avoid the hits. They are very quick on the edges. They have good leadership and don't seem to get phased by giving up big plays. Its weird, in almost every game, they will have stretches, even quarters, where they completely dominate, then have 3 drives where they just give up a ton of plays. I don't know if its just Clark taking a little too long to adjust or what. I am very happy with the job Clark Lea has done though. I have met him a couple times at various events outside of football, and he really seems like a great person and has done a nice job this year.

This offense, can be very efficient. I think that Dexter is a really nice running back, but he is not the type of person to take a game over. And this is something that i have butted heads on with ND nation. He has always been really fast, but in the past he was limited and lacked discipline. He couldn't pass block, took plays off, and struggled with vision. It was either a home run or a loss. Now, this year, he is much improved. He has made great efforts in pass protection and has turned into a back that you can trust with 20 carriers a game, but make no mistake, this is still a combo running back set up. Jafar armstrong, who was injured for a while, is a very good back and i think could turn into a great one before he is done. I love what Dexter has done this year, but a lot of his yards are still big runs, hes not churning out 4-5 yards 15 times a game.

Well, our guy, his name is Dungey by the way as it appears you've never heard of him, is not very mobile, and rather slow as molasses, and has a ton of difficulty in evading the rush, so that's very concerning.

 

[orangecuse]

We haven’t played a complete game and are prone to lose focus and make silly mistakes. Hoping they put it all together on Saturday.

One thing you can count on. HCDB is the ultimate motivator. The Syracuse team will be ready to play.

You think? I was at the Wake game a couple of weekends ago and thought we played about as well as we could've on the road, especially based upon the point spread, first conference road victory, etc.

 

[SouthernCuse]

When you watch ND, nothing stands out as excellent but nothing stands out as a weakness either

Yes, that is what i see as well. 22% chance of SU victory sounds about right to me.

If we get points first, I think that helps us a lot, make ND throw more than they would ideally like to.

I am just thrilled to be talking about a relevant game on a freaking Monday in November.
Its all gravy to me now.

 

[721Comstock]

You think? I was at the Wake game a couple of weekends ago and thought we played about as well as we could've on the road, especially based upon the point spread, first conference road victory, etc.

Our passing game was crap vs. Wake. (Which is why we ran it down their throats.)

In part because the refs apparently didn't know that DB's aren't allowed to mug WR's.
And also because ED was pretty erratic w/ his passing anyway.

 

[RMH44]

We haven’t played a complete game and are prone to lose focus and make silly mistakes. Hoping they put it all together on Saturday.

One thing you can count on. HCDB is the ultimate motivator. The Syracuse team will be ready to play.

Agreed, and the one thing I haven't seen mentioned thus far is...SU is VERY physical on both side of the ball.

 

[RMH44]

Our passing game was crap vs. Wake. (Which is why we ran it down their throats.)

In part because the refs apparently didn't know that DB's aren't allowed to mug WR's.
And also because ED was pretty erratic w/ his passing anyway.

It started out slow (0-5) but finished with a 67% completion rate which isn't bad. We didn't throw for a bunch of yards but we took what they gave us.

 

[PASyrFan]

I'm both a hardcore Syracuse & Notre Dame fan. Born & raised Catholic in Syracuse, so I still remember watching ND replays on Sunday mornings before going to Mass. That was back in the Terry Hanratty days!! It's always a little bittersweet for me when these 2 teams play one another. I did read that Book will start on Saturday. In my eyes, he's the better QB because of his ability to read the defense & distribute the ball to right guy at the right time. Even though Syracuse can pressure the QB, Book is agile enough to buy enough time to burn our secondary repeatedly. I expect both teams could eclipse 40 in this game. Dungey will need to be more accurate than he's been the last 2 weeks. If he is, ND could be in for a long day on D. If he isn't, I hope he can create something with his legs. DeVito could see some time, just as BW may seem some time. I'm hoping and thinking that this could be the most entertaining game of the day.

 

[orangecuse]

Our passing game was crap vs. Wake. (Which is why we ran it down their throats.)

In part because the refs apparently didn't know that DB's aren't allowed to mug WR's.
And also because ED was pretty erratic w/ his passing anyway.

Well, that's an SU fan's perspective, relative to the passing game. I presume from a Wake's perspective, they may say we keyed/game planned to take away their passing and, if they were going to be successful, they'd have to do so and beat us on the ground.

See RMH44's post.

 

[NDIrish]

So say the score is 38-35 with 3 minutes left, would you prefer to be down by 3 and have the ball, or to be up by 3 and ND has the ball??

 

[NDIrish]

When you watch ND, nothing stands out as excellent but nothing stands out as a weakness either

id say thats pretty true, they are a solid b+ across the board, maybe squeeze a couple A- in there. O line i may give a b- to.

 

[kimfororange]

Hey guys, ND fan here, obviously. Just looking to chat a little about the game this Saturday. Im not trying to come on here and be a troll and start all kinds of crap. Honestly, i can't stand a majority of ND fans, and the ones on the boards are even worse. Its unreadable garbage. So if you guys wanna chat, im here, ill give my opinions on strengths, weaknesses, ask for some of yours. If people don't want to, its cool, i'll leave. I spend about 7-8 weeks out of the year on opponent boards, find it much more interesting then the ND ones. i've actually had a lot of fun doing it, even met some people from time to time at home games. I can handle jabs at ND, but not gonna stick around to argue all week, so its up to you. I've done some looking through this board and can tell that ND is not a favorite by a lot of you and understand that. they can be a hard to team to love and an easy one to hate.

Very excited for this game, and from what some of you picked up on, this was scheduled as the shamrock game because they higher ups thought it would be an easy win, looks like they were wrong. Personally, im glad for the surge of Syracuse this year. A lot of the usual tough teams have taken a break from football this year and i think this will be a nice gauge for where ND really is heading into the end of the season.

So with all the out of the way, how are you guys feeling about this game?

Looking forwards to the game on Saturday. I think it's going to be a barn burner and I'm hoping that Syracuse wins the game to go 9-2 6-2 ACC.

 

[McNabb2Brominski]

So say the score is 38-35 with 3 minutes left, would you prefer to be down by 3 and have the ball, or to be up by 3 and ND has the ball??

Down 3 with the ball.

 

[BVille44]

Hope the game comes down to a field goal because I like our chances with Smytz from inside 50 yards. 60 with the wind at his back.

 

[zona]

We'll definitely be focused, but ND is used to that. They get their opponent's best shot every week just because of their name.

ND is going to break off big runs, it's inevitable. But the effort to make sure it doesn't go all the way to the house is one key. Try to find 3s instead of 7s when they break them.

I like our special teams to be an equalizer for some of the talent mismatches.

And finally, we're going to need the Dungey passer from the NC State game, not the UNC/Louisville games.

Special teams unfortunately has been an overall weak point for the Irish except maybe kicking FG's. I only watched a couple of your games and just an opinion here but your D and ST play very opportunistically. And that may help you against us. our D is conservative but very good and the offense is good but not there yet because of the QB switch and finding out what they can do. I think the line has the Irish favored between 7 and 9. That feels about right. Love your QB he is really really good. I think it will be a fight to end. I would not want it any other way.

 

[RMH44]

I'm both a hardcore Syracuse & Notre Dame fan. Born & raised Catholic in Syracuse, so I still remember watching ND replays on Sunday mornings before going to Mass. That was back in the Terry Hanratty days!! It's always a little bittersweet for me when these 2 teams play one another. I did read that Book will start on Saturday. In my eyes, he's the better QB because of his ability to read the defense & distribute the ball to right guy at the right time. Even though Syracuse can pressure the QB, Book is agile enough to buy enough time to burn our secondary repeatedly. I expect both teams could eclipse 40 in this game. Dungey will need to be more accurate than he's been the last 2 weeks. If he is, ND could be in for a long day on D. If he isn't, I hope he can create something with his legs. DeVito could see some time, just as BW may seem some time. I'm hoping and thinking that this could be the most entertaining game of the day.

With Lindsey Nelson and Paul Hornung on the call. Nelson wore the crazy plaid blazers long before JB.

 

[zona]

id say thats pretty true, they are a solid b+ across the board, maybe squeeze a couple A- in there. O line i may give a b- to.

IMO the Irish front 7 is an A. Tillery is a first rounder, The DB including safety's A to B range. The O-line right now is a B. WR are B- to B+ QB is B- to B+ he is not there yet but getting there. Dexter Williams is an A at RB. ST is C to B- depending on what prayer you say.

 

[CousCuse]

Special teams unfortunately has been an overall weak point for the Irish except maybe kicking FG's. I only watched a couple of your games and just an opinion here but your D and ST play very opportunistically. And that may help you against us. our D is conservative but very good and the offense is good but not there yet because of the QB switch and finding out what they can do. I think the line has the Irish favored between 7 and 9. That feels about right. Love your QB he is really really good. I think it will be a fight to end. I would not want it any other way.

I think Dungey is an Irish surname, he definitely plays football like he's got the spirit of old sod.

 

[Dino2112]

SU D is better than advertised (we just have these holy lapses ) I feel if we can get a good lead we can take away much of your running attack (IF)
Dungey is a warrior but not the QB for this Off. I find the running game odd ,i feel we look predictable but some how we can run (at time) and when we do it well, we go away from it .

I feel we are over ranked ,but i'll take it . I want this win for one reason recruiting !!! (and i don't like ND and i want see your play off dreams fade LOL)

 

[HRE Otto IV]

So say the score is 38-35 with 3 minutes left, would you prefer to be down by 3 and have the ball, or to be up by 3 and ND has the ball??

Up three for sure. Chances are the D would get off the field quickly. Whether that is from a stop or a quick ND score. So worst case we are down 4 with the ball and just over a minute left.

 

[cliftonparksufan]

Hope the game comes down to a field goal because I like our chances with Smytz from inside 50 yards. 60 with the wind at his back.

Weather sounds like it might be iffy.

 

[Qbobby]

It's mid-November in NYC. The definition of iffy. We're about as likely to have 55 and sun as 35 wind and rain.

If we can dodge precip, it's a win as far as weather goes. There almost always will be wind.

 

[Ish88888]

Hey guys, ND fan here, obviously. Just looking to chat a little about the game this Saturday. Im not trying to come on here and be a troll and start all kinds of crap. Honestly, i can't stand a majority of ND fans, and the ones on the boards are even worse. Its unreadable garbage. So if you guys wanna chat, im here, ill give my opinions on strengths, weaknesses, ask for some of yours. If people don't want to, its cool, i'll leave. I spend about 7-8 weeks out of the year on opponent boards, find it much more interesting then the ND ones. i've actually had a lot of fun doing it, even met some people from time to time at home games. I can handle jabs at ND, but not gonna stick around to argue all week, so its up to you. I've done some looking through this board and can tell that ND is not a favorite by a lot of you and understand that. they can be a hard to team to love and an easy one to hate.

Very excited for this game, and from what some of you picked up on, this was scheduled as the shamrock game because they higher ups thought it would be an easy win, looks like they were wrong. Personally, im glad for the surge of Syracuse this year. A lot of the usual tough teams have taken a break from football this year and i think this will be a nice gauge for where ND really is heading into the end of the season.

So with all the out of the way, how are you guys feeling about this game?

Welcome and thanks for being so REAL alot if solid college football fans on this site site.

 

[zona]

I think Dungey is an Irish surname, he definitely plays football like he's got the spirit of old sod.

He has the same grit the Navy QB's have but a better passer

 

[OrangeOnions]

Looking forwards to the game on Saturday. I think it's going to be a barn burner and I'm hoping that Syracuse wins the game to go 9-2 6-2 ACC.

9-2, 5-2 in the ACC