Syracuse Football: Quick hits about the Orange heading into week 2

Hello and welcome to Inside The Loud House – today is a glorious day as we soak in that Syracuse football 31-7 victory over Louisville. I’m not a bragger or smack talker but I do enjoy the victories and mourn the losses for a bit before letting them go.

This one I’m particularly enjoying because so many counted Syracuse football out and yet they dominated and I’m like a proud brother who just watched as that brother you believed in actually went out and proved they’re worthy.

Now, as to what this column entails. I want to say that I love writing about Syracuse football and Syracuse Orange sports so when my brother Neil Adler offered me this opportunity, I took it. But lately, my time is kinda hectic BUT oh no my friend, I’m not giving up…I’m just trying to find practical ways to balance home life, work life and living that Orange life.

With that said, my goal as of now (though in professional wrestling terms, the card is subject to change) is to provide some quick hits about the past game and also the upcoming games. So without further ado, let’s hit this like Sean Tucker hitting a hole in the offensive line.

Here are some quick hits on Syracuse football in week one and looking ahead to week two.

Louisville Hits:

THANK YOU SYRACUSE FANS!!!

I can’t emphasize enough even listing this first how much it warms my heart that fans showed up and showed out Saturday night. Thank you Otto’s Army! Thank you other SU students! Thank you Syracuse alumni & Syracuse locals who not only showed up but were loud and effective.

PL34SED WITH SEAN TUCKER

Sean Tucker was exactly who we thought he was and could be. When he went down, I swear I heard crying throughout Orange Nation and it wasn’t just me. But thankfully he recovered and ended with 98 yards rushing, 85 yards receiving and two touchdowns. God bless you, Sean Tucker.

Also, if you’re a Tucker fan, I have seen jerseys for sale in the area so check your local vendor for more if you’re interested…it’s Orange too.

SHRADER SHREDS

Going into the season, many had questions about QB Garrett Shrader and in my eyes, he proved to be worthy of being the field general as Head Coach Dino Babers labeled him in his post-game press conference.

Also, many quarterbacks often find a comfort zone with certain wide receivers and after this game, I’m wondering if something is clicking with him and Devaughn Cooper, who had four catches for 60 yards, second only to Sean Tucker in receiving yards for the game. Is this a future combo we should keep in mind?

DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS

If you weren’t impressed with that defensive effort against Louisville, I don’t know what would make you happy. The secondary was as good as hyped with Garret Williams looking like a big-game guy and Mikel Jones at times reminded me of a Keith Bullock or Dwight Freeney with his intensity and play.

I truly believe that defense and the Loud House worked hand in hand and fed off each other shutting down a talented Louisville team including QB Malik Cunningham, who was held to only 34 yards rushing with zero touchdown passes and two interceptions.

PRAYERS UP FOR RHINO AND STEFON

Coach Dino Babers announced Monday morning that both Chris “Rhino” Elmore and LB Stefon Thompson are likely done for the season due to injuries. Sending both of these men some love and knowing that they will be missed on the field as both are HUGE assets to this team.

But most importantly these are two young men who deserve to live healthy lives and I hope are healthy again soon no matter what path life takes them on, whether it’s redshirting or whatever.

University of Connecticut Hits:

DON’T FALL FOR THE TRAP

Syracuse football can’t afford to look past this game or any game. Every win matters in a sport where you need six wins to be a bowl team. The win against Louisville looks really good on the resume but a loss at UConn can make it look equally bad. They should win but need to go out and prove they can win.

The game is at Rentschler Field in Connecticut so I’d bet the Huskies will be out to try and defend their field and Syracuse football will need to go in there with a purpose and play hard to prove they’re the better team.

COACH JIM MORA

Last year, the Huskies only had one win and so changes were made. Enter Jim Mora. Coach Mora has NFL and NCAA head coaching experience and I’m willing to bet is watching game film and figuring out ways he thinks they can beat Syracuse football. This team is 1-1 already and I don’t expect Coach Mora to just go into this game with his hands in his pockets assuming they’ll lose.

HOW DEEP IS YOUR ORANGE

If Syracuse football can handle their business and do so early, this could be an opportunity to test out the team’s depth at various positions. Once upon a time, Sean Tucker was maybe 3rd on the running back depth chart but took advantage of an opportunity and will finish his career as one of the best at the position.

Is there anyone else waiting in the wings to say “put me in Coach…I’m ready to play”? With your next two games against Purdue and Virginia plus injuries already hitting the team, this is the opportunity to prove you deserve to be at least part of the rotation.

HOLY ROUGH STRETCH OF SCHEDULE BATMAN

In the next three games, UConn has the Orange at home and then goes on the road to ranked Michigan and ranked NC State back to back. As previously mentioned, Syracuse’s next two games are Purdue and Virginia at home so both teams aren’t catching a break after this one but neither wants to take a loss here either.

HUSKIES HAVE A MAJOR INJURY HURDLE AS WELL

Sadly, Huskies QB Ta’Quan Roberson, who transferred from Penn State to UConn before the season, is out indefinitely with a torn ACL. Backup QB Zion Turner did help lead the Huskies to a 28-3 victory over Central Connecticut State and finished the game 14-of-22 for 172 yards in his first start at the college level.

WORKING ON THOSE NIGHT MOVES

If you hated that Syracuse versus Louisville was a night game, you’re not going to be happy about this one either. Syracuse plays at UConn on Saturday night, September 10th, at 7 pm on the CBS Sports Network (and also Syracuse radio on TK99 if you’re in the CNY area).

Three of Syracuse’s first four games are at night, with the only exception being Purdue next weekend at noon in the Dome on ESPN2. So load up on your caffeine and be prepared because if Syracuse keeps winning, I have a feeling there will be more in the near future, especially with Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, NC State and other quality opponents remaining on the schedule.