Syracuse Football: Analyst projects ‘Cuse defense to be one of ACC’s best

Syracuse football is forecast to have a top-five defense within the Atlantic Coast Conference in the 2022 season, according to an expert.

Eric Mac Lain, a college football analyst for the ACC Network and ESPN, recently sent out a tweet where he predicted the five conference units that will have the top defenses in the league this fall.

He has the ‘Cuse slated in the No. 4 spot, behind Clemson, N.C. State and Pittsburgh. Boston College rounds out the top five, according to Mac Lain.

Naturally, the games are played on the field, and we all certainly take pre-season prognostications with the proverbial grain of salt. That being said, Mac Lain is deeply entrenched in the ACC, and his projection for the Orange is undeniably encouraging.

Heading into the 2022 stanza, Syracuse football has a lot to like on defense.

A little context here. A term ago, the ‘Cuse was fairly smack in the middle of the FBS as it pertains to points allowed per contest.

According to statistics on ncaa.com, Syracuse football allowed an average of 26.33 points per game over the 12 contests that it played in 2021. Last season, the Orange went 5-7 overall, dropping its last three encounters to miss out on a bowl game.

For some perspective, the 26.33 points per affair that the ‘Cuse allowed in 2021 ranked No. 66 across the country out of 130 FBS squads.

I recognize that the Orange, on paper, is projected to face a pretty daunting schedule in 2022, so the team’s defense certainly will be thoroughly tested.

But for me, there is a lot of excitement about various components of the ‘Cuse defense this coming campaign. As we’ve discussed on numerous occasions, the Orange secondary can be elite in 2022, led by cornerbacks Garrett Williams and Duce Chestnut, both of whom are All-American and All-ACC candidates this fall.

In the ‘Cuse 3-3-5 system spearheaded by defensive coordinator Tony White, the Orange will have three additional defensive backs at the safety and rover positions.

While Williams and Chestnut are garnering the majority of pre-season accolades, the ‘Cuse has depth in the secondary, with guys such as Ja’Had Carter, Justin Barron, Rob Hanna and Rutgers transfer Alijah Clark, among others, battling it out for starting roles.

The three presumed starters for Syracuse football at linebacker, All-American candidate Mikel Jones, Stefon Thompson and Marlowe Wax, should form one of the best LB trios nationwide.

Wax, in a recent interview with Josh Crawford of SyracuseOnSI, said of the squad’s line-backing unit, “In the film room, we see the chemistry. The way we move, we just give each other a look, we just know where each of us is going to go. It’s a lot of hours put in, a lot of work put in.”

Now we turn to the Orange’s defensive line. This group contains talented players who are also young and inexperienced, so we’ll have to wait and see how the DL fares in 2022.

You can sense the confidence, energy and excitement brewing over the Syracuse football defense. Williams, for one, recently told SyracuseOnSI publisher Mike McAllister that he thinks the ‘Cuse can have a top-10 defense nationally in the upcoming campaign.