Syracuse Football: Initial game analysis for North Carolina

The Syracuse football team is fresh off of their bye week and will return to action against North Carolina, our Paul A. Esden Sr. has the initial game breakdown.

The seventh game of the 2018 Syracuse Orange Campaign is against the North Carolina Tar Heels. So before we go too far I have to ask what in the name of blank is a Tar Heel?

So I gave it a google and this is what came up from Wikipedia:

"“The exact etymology of the nickname is unknown, but most folklore believe its roots come from the fact that tar, pitch, and turpentine created from the vast pine forests were some of North Carolina’s most important exports early in the state’s history. … The term “Tar Heel” gained popularity during the Civil War.”"

So in short they are not sure where their own nickname comes from?!?  But I digress….

We enter the second half of the season with a record of 4-2. Not as good as we hoped but a far cry of the past few years.

I have heard ‘the same old orange’; or in the words of Dennis Green ‘they are what we thought they were’. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

This squad is closer to being undefeated than not. Two heart breaking losses in a row for sure, now it’s time to put on our big boy pants and get ready to move the Orange forward into a new era! Standing in our path is a …. Tar Heel.

Now let’s look at this year’s numbers to date:

2018 Rankings Comparison, Syracuse vs North Carolina:

• Total Offense: SU (50th) vs UNC (120th)
• Rushing: SU (33rd) vs UNC (95th)
• Passing: SU (81st) vs UNC (109th)
• Total Defense: SU (50th) vs UNC (120th)
• Rushing: SU (83rd) vs UNC (67th)
• Passing: SU (81st) vs UNC (109th)

Key insights for Syracuse:

• Eric Dungey is arguably one of the best and most experienced quarterback in the ACC. His statistics this year are solid but not what we have seen in the past. In the first half versus Pittsburgh, he went 12-of-24 for 58 yards in the first half, to put that into perspective 42 of those yards came on the first drive. The Orange wide receivers struggled under press coverage. In a league of copy cats, we need to be ready to overcome tight coverage at the line of scrimmage.
• We need to keep up our streak of starting fast. In the first six games this year on our opening drive we have scored four touchdowns, and one field goal with only one punt.

Keys insights for North Carolina:

• The running back position is a three headed monster for North Carolina. Antonio Williams, Michael Carter and Jordan Brown have each shown flashes of brilliance this year. Each one has the burst to make the big gain and they all are averaging north of four yards per carry and at least one rush of over 20 yards. This is Syracuse’s Achilles Heel late in the game. Our key is to load up against the rush and let the Junior QB Nathan Elliot try and beat them.

To ensure that we are not the same old Syracuse of the past few years we have to understand that we cannot overlook any team. North Carolina has defensive challenges and a not very good record, if you remember that is what we said about Pittsburgh who by the way the Heels beat.

So now after I have looked at the numbers, some key insights and now is the time for the prediction. I do not want to be a naysayer or pessimist I want us to be aware that every game we need to go out and play our best ball game. With that being said,  OITNF will win bringing their season total to 5 WINS!  One shy of the ‘Quest for 6’. Remember to be loud, be proud, BE ORANGE.