Syracuse Football: Week 1 Liberty Flames crystal ball predictions

Joe Arrigo, Contributor (0-0)

Syracuse begins this 2019 season on the road, as they will head down to Virginia to take on the Liberty Flames. Liberty will be lead by Hugh Freeze, a man who had a lot of success at Ole Miss, but recruiting scandals and players receiving payment caused Freeze to get kicked out the back door.

Freeze is now at Liberty, but his first training camp hasn’t gone as planned. He has had to coach the team from his hotel room after having back surgery and may have to coach from the press box when the Orange comes to town.

As for the game, there are two things Syracuse needs to be careful of. Syracuse will not have much tape on what Liberty will look like because of Freeze being in his first year for the Flames, which is a big concern.

The second thing that worries me is Syracuse’s respect level for Liberty. The Orange are clearly better than Liberty, but will they act like it? There has been so much buzz around the Clemson game in Week 3, I worry that Syracuse will overlook Liberty. Playing on the road for the first game of the year is never easy, no matter who you are playing.

I wouldn’t be shocked if the Orange started off slow. Hugh Freeze will have his guys ready, and it may take a turnover or a Liberty touchdown for the Orange to wake up and play. Having said that, Syracuse will pull away by the fourth quarter to win this game.

The Orange are just a better overall team, and after being rated 22nd in the country to start the year, I can’t see Syracuse losing this game and throwing what could be a magical season in the garbage. Dino Babers will NOT let that happen.

Final Score- Syracuse 41 Liberty 24