The biggest game of the season for the Syracuse football squad will also be the official coming-out party for Tommy DeVito.
Syracuse versus Clemson. Primetime. ABC.
Three years ago or even less you would have thought this was clickbait.
No way would ESPN, ABC, NBC, FS1, heck, even ESPN the Ocho would think about putting the oft-under-.500 Orange against the national powerhouse that is Clemson on must-watch television.
Oh, how times have changed.
We all know what happened in 2017 – the unranked and highly unfavored Orange took down Dabo Swinney and the No. 2 ranked Tigers in the Carrier Dome; becoming perhaps one of the biggest upsets in college football history.
Then, in 2018, a much more hyped – but still unfavored – ‘Cuse team traveled to Death Valley for a rematch with the Tigers.
The Eric Dungey led Orange crew had Clemson on the ropes, as the Orange held a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter. However, the purple and orange rallied for an escape victory that nonetheless helped them skate on to an eventual national title.
Now, we sit in 2019, and this is a Syracuse team with perhaps as much hype around it since the early 1990s. Sure, they just got blown out by an unranked, yet very offensive-minded, Maryland team. But, this is still a squad with a ton of talent, a top-notch coach in Dino Babers, and one of the toughest offenses to slow down when it’s clicking.
Now, although this game has been on the radar of Syracuse fans since the schedule was released a few months back, we can’t get ahead of ourselves.
This, of course, is the Clemson Tigers we’re talking about. Perhaps the only team on Alabama’s level (they proved that last year), with a sophomore quarterback who would easily be the starting quarterback for half of the NFL right now, and countless other offensive and defensive playmakers that serve as matchup nightmares.
With this being said, there’s just something about Dino Babers and his Syracuse team that seem to have figured out a gameplan to taming the Tigers.
Something that seems to have been a trend in this annual contest has been the fact that ‘Cuse has struck gold on the long ball, as well as forced turnovers. Oh, and of course, we can’t forget the fact that an Orange player has also knocked out the Clemson starting QB three straight years, dating all the way back to current Houston Texans signal-caller, Deshaun Watson.
Now, I’m not saying the latter, or even the first two are musts for the Orange to take down the top team in the country. But, I will say, they can’t hurt (except the latter again), and only can help the Orange put their mark on this game.
Most importantly, Dabo Swinney has had this game on his calendar. Two straight years Babers’ squad has given Dabo’s a lot of trouble, and with the Orange picked to finish second in the division this year, it serves as one of, if not, the biggest challenge for the Tigers in 2019. Given that, I expect a well-researched gameplan from Swinney, especially since most of the playmakers on this Orange team have played in the past two classics between these schools.
Oh, but there does happen to be one guy who Swinney might not have a lot of tape on.
And his name is Tommy DeVito.
DeVito played sparingly last season, so there is some tape on him, albeit, not a lot. This year, he hasn’t played nearly as well as last season, and especially not as well as his expectations and potential.
Third time’s the charm, right?
The Tommy DeVito coming out party is just getting started.
Sure, he may have another lackluster game against this stifling defense. But, if he does play to the ability that coaches, fans, and even he knows he can, who is to say this can’t be the difference-maker for yet another close contest between Syracuse and Clemson.
For those who aren’t well versed on DeVito’s attributes, just think of this. His passing is comparable to Ryan Nassib, with maybe a little bit more of a zip on the ball, and probably more power as well. And while his running isn’t anywhere near Eric Dungey, he can definitely move the pocket but isn’t really a major threat to move the chains.
As mentioned before, the game will be televised on ABC at 7:30 p.m. this Saturday, and is the first Dome sellout (for football) in quite a while. And Tommy DeVito could just be the key to showing Clemson WHOSE HOUSE it really is.