The Syracuse football 2020 campaign is upon us, and our staff writers make their picks on the Orange’s Saturday afternoon clash with ACC foe North Carolina.
Syracuse football opens up its 2020 season on the road versus No. 18 North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Expectations are extremely low for the Orange heading into the fall campaign, and the ‘Cuse 2020 schedule is quite challenging, to say the least.
The staff writers at Inside The Loud House are providing their predictions for this week-one duel between Syracuse football and the Tar Heels. Spoiler alert: one of us thinks that the Orange is going to come out on top!
Josh Peelman
Syracuse football comes in optimistic about this season. Sure, they had a down year last year after having an amazing season in 2018, but they feel they have the talent to stay close with the ACC’s best.
Whether that’s true or not remains to be seen, especially in a season limited to mostly just ACC teams on SU’s schedule due to the coronavirus. North Carolina, aka UNC, is Syracuse’s season-opening opponent. The Orange must travel to Chapel Hill to take on the No. 18 team in the country in a stadium with no fans. Talk about a less than an ideal situation to start the season!
Despite the Tar Heels’ wealth of experience and talent, I think the Orange will play better than experts think they will. Currently, they are projecting the Orange to lose by 22 points. Call me optimistic, but I smell a season-opening upset.
The Orange are ripe for a big win after last year’s disappointing performance, and the offensive line woes should hopefully be resolved. Therefore, I’m expecting an impressive showing from starting quarterback Tommy DeVito who is looking to improve his NFL prospects.
He is too talented to be sacked as much as he was last year, and if he’s given more time in the pocket than a second or two, then I think he can have a record-breaking year. He’s got plenty of receivers and tight ends who can make plays after the catch, he just needs to be able to get the ball to them. That’s something he can accurately do. I see an Orange win on the road by the slimmest of margins at 42-38.
Ryan Lee
Syracuse Football heads to North Carolina to start the 2020 season. Yes, you read that correct, college football in 2020 will at least start. Syracuse drew a tough draw with North Carolina. The Tar Heels are far removed from the team that showed up in 2018 and hung with Syracuse in a double OT thriller.
Now UNC has legendary coach Mac Brown back for his second run with the team and 2019’s break out performer Sam Howell who lit up opposing defenses during his freshman campaign for 3,641 yards with 38 touchdowns and only 7 interceptions.
Howell is not alone and in a shortened offseason he will have several key weapons back with him. Thousand-yards rusher Michael Carter will be back with Javonte Williams who just missed a thousand yards himself. Add in a pair of thousand-yard receivers Dyami Brown and Dazz Newsome and Syracuse’s new defense under Tony White will have their hands full.
The key to slowing down an offense like the Tar Heels would be to keep them off the field and promote as much ball control as you can. However, that might be a tough ask for the Orange with no Abdul Adams or Javeon Howard listed on the depth chart in week one leaving a lot to ask from Jawhar Jordan.
Later in the year, it might be reasonable to ask the Orange defense, who needs to carry to Orange in 2020, to do just that against North Carolina but as mentioned earlier they will be taking the field for the first time under new defensive coordinator Tony White and expecting them to slow down potentially one of the nation’s premier offenses.
2020 might be another rebuilding year for the Orange that might be stunted a bit because of pandemic and lack of practice time and those who are missing on game day but I express everyone to use patience this season even though this Tar Heels opener might make it tough. North Carolina 45 Syracuse 14.
Neil Adler
Syracuse football kicks off its 2020 season by traveling to No. 18 North Carolina this Saturday, with the contest scheduled to start at noon and airing on the ACC Network. While some conferences around the country have postponed their fall football stanzas, the Atlantic Coast Conference is moving forward with an 11-game slate for each league unit.
The Orange has a daunting schedule that includes road battles versus several of the ACC’s premier squads, including the Tar Heels. The ‘Cuse and UNC will go toe to toe inside Kenan Memorial Stadium, however, according to North Carolina athletic-department officials, no fans will get to watch this bout in-person.
The Tar Heels boast a potent offensive attack, led by Heisman Trophy contender Sam Howell. Syracuse football defensive players, employing a new 3-3-5 scheme, have a big-time challenge trying to contain Howell, along with UNC’s stellar group of running backs and wide receivers.
Following the release of the Orange’s first depth chart of the 2020 stanza earlier this week, as well as subsequent media reports, word has come across that two of the top running backs for the ‘Cuse from 2019 are not going to suit up. There are also massive question marks on the offensive line, which doesn’t necessarily bode well for quarterback Tommy DeVito’s outlook, at least in the short term.
ESPN’s Football Power Index says that North Carolina has an 87.1 percent chance to prevail, and odds-makers are anointing the Tar Heels as a roughly 23-point favorite. I don’t believe that UNC is going to cover that spread, but the Tar Heels will defeat Syracuse football in the 2020 campaign opener, 38-20.
Mat Mlodzinski
As much as it may be a disappointment to start the season with a loss, the Tar Heels aren’t the team the Orange want to face.
Quarterback Sam Howell is one of the top pocket passers in the nation, so Syracuse will need to apply pressure. Even then, if he gets the ball out in time, it will be a long day for the Cuse secondary.
On offense, it’s time for Tommy DeVito to take control. He needs to be the leader on offense, but above that needs to use his voice and play with more confidence. It’s a young team, so his presence could make the difference.
I see the Orange scoring points, just based on head coach Dino Babers’ offensive system. But UNC is just too good, and the Cuse running game scares me.
If Syracuse can take an early lead, it could bode well. Otherwise, UNC has my pick. UNC – 38, SYRACUSE – 28