Syracuse Football: Match-ups to watch against Wake Forest

The Syracuse Football 2020 season is less to do with predicting individual games but more on predicting where they have pieces for future success already.

Syracuse football takes on Wake Forest at home this Halloween. It has been no secret to how disappointing this season has been to date. Injuries have decimated a team with limited depth and the focus has shifted to the future.

After an inspiring two-and-a-half quarters against Clemson a week ago there seems to be more optimism for the Orange but picking up their second win against a talented Deamon Deacons squad seems like a tall ask.

So this week instead of laying out a plan of how the Orange can win this week, we will focus on what to watch and see if they continue to improve and produce to eventually help Syracuse compete in the ACC.

A unit that deserves a lot of attention for Syracuse will be their secondary. The Orange defense as a whole has had some very impressive moments this year including Trevor Lawerence’s first career pick-six a week ago or when they forced five Georgia Tech turnovers for their only win on the season.

There also have been some downs but considering the number of underclassmen contributing without a regular offseason to fully incorporate a new defensive scheme, the defense has been a net positive of giving the Orange future hope.

The reason why we should look at the secondary this week is that the amount of production the Orange are getting there has been incredible. The three freshmen of Rob Hanna, Ja’Had Carter, and Garrett Williams have all tallied at least 29 tackles on the season to be top five on the team each. Ahead of them is actually more youth but in the linebacking core with Geoff Cantin-Arku and Mikel Jones, both true sophomores that came in with Williams.

Tackles are not a tell for how good a defensive player is but seeing members of the secondary fill up the stat sheet is a positive because while some of it is because they are the last line of defense, watching Hanna, Carter, and Williams it is obvious that they are willing to get their hands dirty and mix it up anywhere on the field.

Syracuse has held four opponents under their season average in total passing yards including Clemson a week prior. The freshmen are not alone there as the leader of the secondary Trill Williams has a lot to do with that. Williams has four pass deflections and an interception to his ledger this year and like so many other Orange defenders received some love for their production this season by Pro Football Focus.

PFF ranks Williams second amongst slight corners this season and he is going to need that this week. Williams is expected to go head-to-head with Jaquarii Roberson of Wake Forest. The tale of the tape between Williams and Roberson is about equal and so has their production for their given units this year as Roberson is PFF’s number one rated slot receiver this season.

https://twitter.com/PFF_College/status/1321505314559217664?s=20

Roberson has 26 receptions and 360 yards with a single touchdown on the season in five games to lead the Demon Deacons. This will be an exciting matchup of two guys who have done nothing but produce for their teams. Williams, especially with the Andre Cisco injury, has become the household name of the Syracuse defense. If Orange fans have learned anything about Williams during his time in Syracuse is that matchups and big moments like this excite him and lead him to step up his play.

The secondary will be put to the test but one that hopefully the Orange can take advantage of. Will they completely shut down the Deacons? Probably not. However, anticipate that they will continue to show us what they can do and why the Orange will be able to build off of them moving forward.