Syracuse Football: Week 1 Liberty Flames crystal ball predictions
Chris Queripel, Contributor (0-0)
On Saturday, August 31, the Syracuse football team will start their season against the Liberty Flames. The Orange travel down to Lynchburg, Virginia for the 6 p.m. kick-off.
Syracuse is coming off of a 10-3 win season, which ranks among their best in over almost two decades. On top of their regular-season performance, they added a bowl victory against West Virginia, in the Camping World Bowl.
In 2019, Syracuse hopes to build on last seasons stellar year. 2019 starts against a Hugh Freeze led Liberty football squad. Freeze was the head coach at powerhouse Ole Miss and now is leading the Flames. He is coming off of back surgery and may make his Liberty debut from the booth so this may affect the play calling in an already new scheme.
Heading into Week 1 Syracuse opens up as an almost 18 point favorite against Liberty. Even though this game looks like an easy victory for ‘Cuse they cannot overlook the Flames.
Overall, Liberty has a solid team top to bottom. On offense, their skill position players will carry them to a nice offensive game. Quarterback Stephen Calvert and wide receiver Antonio Gandy-Golden will be two names to watch. These two behind a solid O-line could have a decent day against the Orange.
However, despite a good O-line, the Syracuse defense will wreak havoc on Liberty. My defensive X-factor for Week 1 is Alton Robinson. Last year, he recorded 10 sacks and 17 tackles for a loss. Look for Robinson to start the season tallying up the stat sheet.
On the offensive front, this is a pivotal game for ‘Cuse. It’s Tommy DeVito’s time to take over the Orange offense. It may take a little while to work the kinks out. However, Syracuse has an established run game and adding Michigan State transfer, Trishton Jackson, adds to the weapons in their receiving corps. Syracuse may start slow but by the second quarter, they will get things going like a well-oiled machine. In the end, Syracuse will defeat Liberty 38-17 and beat the spread in the process on their way to start the season 1-0.