Why we will win, Why we will lose | Syracusefan.com

Why we will win, Why we will lose

Just my opinion this one is pretty simple, a lot of the outcome will come down to can Syracuse hold their own on the lines? I am worried that the Tennessee D line and linebackers are going to make us one dimensional. IF we slow down the run, and win the turnover battle we can win this game.
 
What happened to SWC? He’s a fantastic poster
He passed away.
 
I am more than willing to pick up the beat. I have a 7th grade level of writing though.
You'll be fine. Just send it through AI and tell it that you need it to be bumped up to the 8th grade level. That's about all most of us can handle here anyway.
 
Just my opinion this one is pretty simple, a lot of the outcome will come down to can Syracuse hold their own on the lines? I am worried that the Tennessee D line and linebackers are going to make us one dimensional. IF we slow down the run, and win the turnover battle we can win this game.
Just about every game can come down to blocking, tackling, and turnovers. Our more narrowly yet... winning in the trenches and turnovers.

I think the keys are whether our front 6 or 7 can stop the run. If we need to start having DBs cheat up to stop their run game, then we will be vulnerable to play action/passing. Thinking of that BC loss last year.

If we had played Tenn in the first round of the playoffs last year... they would have been the best defense we faced all year. So our offense vs. their defense would have been a great story line. This would have been a very tough matchup for us. In contrast to Miami, which was all O and no D like us... a shootout. What happens when our offense is held to 20 points. Can our defense keep teams under 20?

If our defense is not improved over last year, especially against the run and avoiding big plays, things could get ugly. If our D is not improved, that would require our offense to be just as good as it was last year by the end of the year. Can we be that good this early in 2025? Can we be that good against what is likely one of the top 2-3 defenses we face all year?

We have the size, speed, and talent that it will not take gimmicks to win. But we will need to come ready to play and crisply execute what is hopefully a very well designed game plan.
 
I am not SWC and I never will be. But I respect the hell out of what he did for us and will give it a shot in his memory.

Why We Will Win
In two words? Jeff Nixon. He's had as long as he'd need to study the Tennessee defense and he has the tools and genius in his arsenal to take them down. Angeli is the real deal and isn't going to cave to the intense and sudden pressure. Our receiver corp is deep as the Mariana Trench, and if you put oversized shoulder pads on the O-Line you could mistake them for the '95 Gator Bowl champs.

I expect the offense to look a little bit like last year--spread, aggressive, and pass-heavy. Johntay has always had the talent, but now he's got a HCFB as a mentor too, and we're going to hear a lot of "Angeli to Cook for the first down'. Not to mention Gill who was solid last year and is going to come back stronger and more elusive.

But I don't think the offense will be exactly the same. With the new line and lack of LeQuint and Oronde as check-down options, it will be exciting to see all 235lbs of Yasin Willis smash open his own gaps. I was also curious to see Fran Jr. listed at Fullback; while I don't expect to see him take many snaps there, it could be an indicator of how the offense is adapting to the talent at hand.

The defense may be questionable, but I see some bright spots too. All eyes are on Demetres Samuel Jr.--Tenesee is going to count on winning some 1v1 routes and he's a day ahead and a dollar over when it comes to the speed to shut them down.

Why We Will Lose
Tennesee is good. Nico was fantastic, but for them it's a don't let the door hit you on the way out situation much less a next man up.

Now, I'm not calling for meathead football, exactly, but I expect them to methodically march down the field and wear out our defense. Those same 1v1s that we can win are going to be a lot harder to keep winning as we tire out.

It will be tense. I'm not going to lie, at times it might even start to feel hopeless, and their time with the ball that stands a good chance of limiting our possessions.

And remember, our offense is new. Steve won the competition but he was not here for spring ball. Mistakes and miscues seem inevitable, and with limited possessions those mistakes will be costly, and they will risk compounding later in the game when the type of 4th and 3 decision can be increasingly tempting. And those difficult and important plays will be in front of a crowd that is increasingly looking like an away game.

Overall?
It's a game we can win. I am hopeful. But we will need some luck.
 
Three things...we win.
Dan Villari has 4 catches for 44 yards...If he can make the VOLS LBs respect him, we can run.
Our LBs have to keep the VOLS from running over us. If we're getting shredded in the 2nd half ..it's likely to be over.
SPECIAL TEAMS... we cannot have punts blocked,,, we must kick fieldgoals from over 35 yards...
we cannot give up any long punt/kickoff returns.
 
It's hard to take a position I don't believe in, but in honor of the devil's advocate that Steve emulated:

Why We Will Lose

Defense. Theirs and ours. Their defense will stifle our 1st game offense. Their DL is tough and will negate our improved OL. If we can't run, then they'll know we have to pass, and their edge players are as good as any we may see this season. How many sacks until it affects Angeli in his first start at Syracuse? Overall, I think the under is looking very attractive.

Our defense will be improved this season and make a game of it, but in the end they'll score just enough to beat us. Our kicking game will be mixed, with good punting and poor FG kicking. It's going to be a slow start for both teams, but Tennessee doesn't have to play much better than we do to win. The crowd will be more TN fans than SU fans, which won't help either.

Tennessee is the favorite for a reason and we won't be fully clicking out of the chute. SU has a young team in their first game together against a bunch of talented kids, especially on defense, and with a coach that's been pretty tough. We'll have to overcome a number of factors and think it's less likely we can do that in the first game. Fran will have to wait a week to shower...
 
Why we will loose

Because Tennessee is an SEC team and, yeah, Syracuse had a great year last year but will suck as usual this year.

Because Tennessee has to replace a QB and most of their OL, but no matter. Syracuse has to replace its OL and QB but they will never figure it out.

Because Tennessee will be sharp as a tack in their first game and Syracuse will make mistakes and commit turnovers all over the place.

Because Heupel is a football genius and Fran has no clue.

Etc., etc., ad nauseam.
 

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