Syracuse Football: Cuse boils Purdue, turns attention to Army on Saturday

Hello all – Syracuse football is 3-0 and life is good. It feels so good to see most fans happy and excited for more Syracuse football.

So the ‘Cuse went to Indiana and handled business at Purdue, 35-20. And at 3-0, we are now halfway to bowl eligibility (need 3 more wins) with 3/4 (9 games) of the season left to play.

So I wanted to do some quick points and notes about the Purdue game and previewing Army on Saturday.

Here are my thoughts on the Syracuse football win at Purdue and a preview of ‘Cuse hosting Army.

Purdue Notes:

https://twitter.com/Orondegii/status/1703156447310201150

– Prayers up to a speedy recovery for Oronde Gadsden II as we learned just before the Purdue game that he will miss the rest of the season due to injury. It’s a Lisfranc injury that according to the interview with Matt Park pregame is torn tendons in his foot that require surgery this week.

– Is Garrett Shrader showing he is MVP/Heisman contender-worthy? He, LeQuint Allen Jr. and Chris Bleich are ACC players of the week so congratulations to them. Also Garrett finished the game with 195 yards rushing and 4 touchdowns (and easily could have had 5 had he not slid to just eat up clock towards the end of the game) plus 184 yards passing. Also, he might have pulled off one or two of the best fakes in college football.

https://twitter.com/ACCFootball/status/1703816162478260689

– Man how about that defense? Three games straight out that the Syracuse football Mob defense is showing up and showing out. And it’s not just one guy (though obviously Marlowe Wax Jr. is living up to the preseason expectations) but a joint effort…a mob effort if you will.

Army Preview: 

– On the heels of a 37-29 victory at UTSA, Army has reportedly renewed the contract of head coach Jeff Monken into the 2027 season. Army is 2-1 coming to Syracuse football this Saturday after losing the season opener to LA-Monroe and also defeating Delaware State. This is an Army team that as Syracuse football head coach Dino Babers points out doesn’t turn over the ball much. Much like their name suggests, they’re coming to the JMA Wireless Dome ready to battle. And as Brent Axe from Syracuse.com pointed out after the Army win Friday night, they can often control the clock against opponents.

– The depth chart is released and still no Trebor Pena listed. With Oronde out as mentioned above and still no Pena, who will emerge as the go-to receiver/target for Shrader? The Purdue game saw some missed opportunities but that position has depth and potential and I truly think there are 3-4 names who could be that guy especially with the sizes of Damien Alford and Umari Hatcher and the speed of Donovan Brown and Isaiah Jones. Could the Army game possibly be the game one or two become “that guy”?