On Saturday, Syracuse football travels to Louisville to take on the Cardinals. At 3-5, this is a must win game for Syracuse if they want to make it to a bowl game. Louisville comes into the game with a 4-4 record, coming off two straight wins over Boston College and Wake Forest.
So with SU in need of a desperate win here, what do they need to do in the game to pull it out?
For starters, they need to play a complete game. It seems like all season it’s been a tale of two halves for Syracuse Football. In the first half of games this season, Syracuse is actually outscoring opponents 126-99. In the second half and overtime, they’re being outscored 127-109. SU has been starting strong, and then limping across the finish line and that needs to change.
Whether it’s an issue with conditioning, coaching, or just mental breakdowns, it can’t happen against Louisville. The team needs to come out fired up in the second half and close out strong for Syracuse to have a chance.
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They also need to get better production from players not named Eric Dungey. Dungey has accounted for 66% of the teams touchdowns, passing 11 through the air and scoring five on the ground. He has more rushing touchdowns than anyone else on the team, and is second in yards even after missing a game and a half with a concussion.
They need a big game from one of the runningbacks. Whether it’s Jordan Fredericks, George Morris, or Davante McFarlane, someone needs to step up and play big. They need to run the ball agressively and attack the gaps in the defense. They actually ran the ball relatively effectively against Florida State this past weekend, so they should have no problem getting yards against Louisville.
They also need receivers to step up. After an outstanding 100+ yard game against Pitt, Steve Ishmael all but dissappeared against Florida State. He caught a whopping one pass for 25 yards. Granted, he was going against one of the best corners in college football, but getting one catch is never going to be good enough.
He’s never going to have the opportunity for big plays though unless someone else can step up at receiver. No one else on the team has over 250 yards receiving, which is incredibly anemic eight games into the season. Brisly Estime, though excellent in the return game, has been a phantom the past four weeks, recording just eight receptions for 54 yards and no touchdowns. Those numbers are unacceptable for a #2 receiver on any team. He needs to step up and be a bigger part of the offense, as do the rest of the receiving corps.
Oct 31, 2015; Tallahassee, FL, USA; Florida State Seminoles running back Kermit Whitfield (8) picks up a first down against the Syracuse Orange cornerback Cordell Hudson (20) at Doak Campbell Stadium. Photo Credit: Glenn Beil-USA TODAY Sports
On defense, they need to figure out how to cover receivers. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a worse secondary on a Syracuse team than what they have this year. Ok, maybe when Greg Robinson was coach, but if I’m making comparisons to him you can understand how dire the situation is. Corey Winfield, Julian Whigham, and the rest of the corners and safeties need to learn how to stick with a receiver.
They got repeatedly torched last week by Florida State, who literally just ran the same play over and over with success. They sent a streak or post route deep down the seem and just watched as their receivers outran and outmuscled the Syracuse secondary. Here’s a tip defense: if you’re getting beat by speed, back up the deep coverage so they can’t get behind you. That adjustment was never made last week, and the team suffered as a result.
They also need to get far more pressure on the passer than they did. Part of it last week was the absolutely horrendous officiating, which missed hold after hold on the FSU offensive line, but a bigger part was the tentative and passive playcalling by the defense. They didn’t blitz nearly enough, and allowed Sean Maguire all day to throw. Against Louisville, they need to harass their freshman quarterback Lamar Jackson.
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Jackson has had a tumultous freshman year, throwing for 1300 yards and eight touchdowns, but also throwing seven interceptions. If SU can force him to throw early or knock him around a bit, he will make mistakes the defense can capitalize on.
Going right along with that thinking, Syracuse needs to force some turnovers. Early in the year, when the team was winning, they were forcing turnovers and even converting them into points. In their three wins, they were +7 in turnover differential. Over the last five games though, Syracuse has managed to get only three turnovers, and they are minus-6 overall in that span. That’s one sure way to lose games.
In the end, there is a lot that Syracuse needs to do to win. If they can play as a team and not give up big plays, they will be in the game with a chance. Let’s just hope that down the stretch it’s Syracuse that gets the last laugh this week, as I’m not sure the fans can take another heartbreaking loss. Check back later for game predictions and more in-depth analysis.