Unless Syracuse football gets run game going, blow-out city at Notre Dame

Syracuse football faces a massively daunting task in its 2020 season finale.

Syracuse football, for the most part, performed admirably in a seven-point home loss this past Saturday afternoon versus N.C. State, although the Orange’s rushing attack was not a bright spot.

Per ESPN statistics, the ‘Cuse had 25 carries for a total of a paltry three yards. You didn’t read that wrong. It’s not a misprint. Syracuse football registered three rushing yards versus the Wolfpack.

Freshman Sean Tucker, the team’s starting running back, has put forth a couple of really nice performances in the fall term, but last Saturday against N.C. State definitely was not one of them. Tucker managed only 18 yards on 16 carries.

Orange head coach Dino Babers said his group did “absolutely nothing” in the running department when the ‘Cuse fell 36-29 to the Wolfpack from the Carrier Dome, according to a piece by Nate Mink of Syracuse.com.

Now the Orange (1-9) is getting prepared to travel to No. 2 Notre Dame (9-0) this coming Saturday in what will be the last encounter for the ‘Cuse in what has proven a disastrous 2020 stanza.

NBC will air this Atlantic Coast Conference clash, which is scheduled to commence at 2:30 pm from Notre Dame Stadium. Amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, the Fighting Irish joined the Atlantic Coast Conference for the fall football term, much to the dismay of some Syracuse football fans.

Ironically, in its first and likely only season as an official ACC member in football, Notre Dame has knocked off highly rated Clemson, and the Fighting Irish is well-positioned to potentially capture the league’s title and earn a berth in the College Football Playoff.

Syracuse football is not great in the run game, which doesn’t bode well at Notre Dame.

Per a tweet from PFF College, Notre Dame hasn’t given up 70-plus rushing yards to any running back in a contest during the current campaign.

The Fighting Irish is one of the best teams in the country at stopping the run, whereas the Orange has been fairly woeful at times in generating substantial rushing yards.

To make matters worse, a ‘Cuse defense that allows more than 200 yards per meeting this Saturday will do battle with a Notre Dame unit that averages 229.7 rushing yards on offense, according to ESPN data. All I can say is – yikes.

It’s unlikely that Syracuse football will do a lot on the ground, but without any sort of balance on offense, the Fighting Irish has a great chance to cover the present spread of a whopping 34 points.