Syracuse Football: Reassessing the season at the bye, revised outlook

Chris Queripel (Contributor)

Syracuse football enters the Week 6 bye on an upswing following the victory over FCS opponent Holy Cross. Syracuse has seven games remaining as they begin their stretch of ACC games. Currently, the Orange are 3-2, but with a tough schedule approaching, they might not be above 500 for long.

Before previewing the Syracuse schedule, let’s first look back on the season. One component that sticks out in my mind is that Syracuse has yet to play in a close ball game. Every game has resulted in a lopsided win or loss. So far their closest game was a 52-33 win versus Western Michigan.

As they start to face ACC teams, they are going to need to battle and scrap to win all of those games. Most of them should be tight wire-to-wire. In that matter, Syracuse is inexperienced this season in close ballgames.

Overall, the sloppy play has stopped ‘Cuse from evolving into an elite caliber team. Syracuse is bottom 10 in the nation in penalty yards a game. The squad gave up almost 78 yards in penalties alone.

Additionally, Tommy DeVito takes sacks more than most FBS quarterbacks. He has been brought down in over 10% of his dropbacks. One of the most ineffective stats for the Orange is their red-zone efficiency. Syracuse is bottom 20 in the NCAA in converting in the red zone.

I believe every game from now on is going to be a challenge. No game looks like a guaranteed win or an automatic blowout loss. The team is going to have to fight for every victory. I predict that the defense will single-handedly win Syracuse games. The run game will also carry the offense through the rest of the season.

Of the remaining games three stick out as being the most difficult for ‘Cuse. Wake Forest, Florida State, and Pittsburgh. These games are against opponents that have already pulled off that upset win in 2019. Head coach Dino Babers must gameplan properly to pull off the ACC victory.

Syracuse has continually forced turnovers in 2019. Takeaways need to continue for ‘Cuse to have a shot at putting more W’s in the win column.

Moe Neal is my x-factor for the rest of the season. He will be in charge of the offense. The passing game is even going to center around him. He won’t make an impact just as a receiver, but by using the play-action game, Syracuse will have more opportunities.

Defensively, Syracuse’s pass rush will force mistakes from opposing passers. Look for Alton Robinson and Kendall Coleman to force interceptions in the latter half of the schedule.

In the end, I think that each of the upcoming games will be a toss-up. But I see the Orange taking four of the seven games. Most likely, these wins will be against NC State, Boston College, Duke, and Louisville.

Syracuse will end with a 7-5 record and make it to another bowl game this season.