Syracuse Football: Low expectations, question marks – tons of leadership
By Neil Adler
Syracuse football isn’t expected to fare all that well in the ACC this season, but head coach Dino Babers is praising his team’s leadership qualities.
The bevy of national and Atlantic Coast Conference pundits don’t foresee an exquisite 2020 campaign for Syracuse football, which opens its term this Saturday at noon on the road versus No. 18 North Carolina.
Analysts, commentators and writers by and large are projecting that the Orange will finish near the bottom of the ACC. Some so-called experts think that the ‘Cuse will wind up dead-last in the conference.
In 2019, Syracuse football finished a disappointing 5-7. Several Orange players departed for the NFL and there is a decent amount of new faces listed as the starters on the first ‘Cuse depth chart that got disclosed this past Monday.
The team has a new defensive scheme, along with first-year offensive and defensive coordinators. The secondary should excel, but there are a host of legitimate questions in other areas on the squad, whether it’s the offensive line, the linebackers, the running backs, the wide receivers, and even on special teams.
Still, even amid the Orange’s soft expectations, the doubters, the naysayers, the ‘Cuse players who have opted out, the novel coronavirus pandemic creating uncertainty around college football, and racial tensions escalating nationwide, head coach Dino Babers is commending his team for pulling together and exhibiting admirable leadership qualities.
"“I think the leadership is good,” Babers said earlier this week, according to an article by John Kekis of The Associated Press. “I think they’ve grown, not only on the football field but off the football field. There’s been a lot of mature, grown-up topics that they’ve been handling as young people, maybe some topics that the older generation should have took care of a long time ago.”"
In addition to its trip to Chapel Hill, the Syracuse football daunting docket away from the Carrier Dome features games against No. 1 Clemson, No. 10 Notre Dame, Louisville and Pittsburgh.
“When you look at the schedule, compared to what it was, it’s probably the toughest schedule that I’ve had in the five years that I’ve been here,” Babers said. “And I’m not sure anybody’s got a tougher road schedule in the country.”
"While the Orange is presently a massive underdog of about 22 points to the Tar Heels, Babers said of Saturday’s ACC clash, “It’s going to be a test, but it’s not going to be a gauge. No football teams have gone through what we’ve gone through, what all the teams have gone through this year. Coaches really have to take a step back and players are really going to get to step up. It’s really a player’s game this year until you can get three, four games in and really know what your team can and can’t do so you can help them as coaches.”"