Syracuse Orange: CFN College Football Preview 2021
College Football News Preview 2021: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Syracuse season with what you need to know.
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– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Syracuse Schedule Analysis
– Syracuse Orange Previews
2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2020 Record: 1-10 overall, 1-9 in ACC
Head Coach: Dino Babers, 6th year, 24-36
2020 CFN Final Ranking: 94
2020 CFN Preview Ranking: 52
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 79
Syracuse Orange College Football Preview 2021: Offense
– It was a brutal run. The offense couldn’t move the chains, there weren’t enough downfield plays, there were too many turnovers, there wasn’t any consistency, and overall, the attack averaged a pathetic 265 yards 18 points per game. There’s one big reason for all of this …
The offensive line hasn’t blocked anyone for a very, very long time. The Orange front five gave up 3.5 sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss per game – among the most in the country – so …
– The offensive line can’t help but be better, and it should be. The coaching staff gets just about everyone back – for good and for bad – and now it’s going to play around with the puzzle. There’s just enough versatility to try something out, but no matter what the configuration is, the line will be huge, loaded with veterans, and again, better.
Leading rusher Sean Tucker is back after running for 626 yards and four scores as one of the bright spots on the O. 2019 key backs Abdul Adams and Jarveon Howard return after opting out last year – the Orange should have a solid rotation.
– The quarterback situation will be a fight up until the opener at Ohio. Tommy DeVito has been beaten up over the last few years behind the leaky line, but he’s back for another shot. However, Mississippi State transfer Garrett Shrader brings both mobility and 6-4, 221-pound size.
Give the quarterbacks time, and the passing game from early in the Dino Babers era will return. Taj Harris led the team with 58 grabs for 733 yards and five scores.
He’s back to stretch the field from the X, and second-leading target Anthony Queeley is a big target on the other side. Nykeim Johnson left for Kent State, but Courtney Jackson has the upside to become a factor on the inside with a bit more time.
– What You Need To Know: Defense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Syracuse Schedule Analysis
NEXT: Syracuse Orange College Football Preview 2021: Defense
4. Syracuse Orange College Football Preview 2021: Defense
– The offense was bad, the defense was almost as awful. It generated a little bit of a pass rush, but it wasn’t great against the run and didn’t do enough overall to makeup for the miserable O.
The secondary loses some of the key parts to the NFL – Ifeatu Melifonwu, Trill Williams, and Andre Cisco all left early – but 11 of the top 12 tacklers are expected to be back.
– The secondary had NFL parts but couldn’t do much with them. Now there’s a do-over in some spots, starting with second-leading tackler Ja’Had Carter at one safety spot and Garrett Williams a sure-stopper at corner. Overall, this will be a really, really young group with a good upside. The defense took its lumps with the youth movement, and now it all has to be worth it.
– The linebacking corps gets back a good twosome in leading tackler Mikel Jones – he’ll be an All-ACC star who does a little of everything – and Geoff Cantin-Arku experienced now in the middle. These two can make a whole slew of plays and get behind the line.
The defensive front three is full of super-seniors. Josh Black is a big end, McKinley Williams is an ultra-experienced senior for the inside, and eventually Kingsley Jonathan will be back and healthy again.
– What You Need To Know: Offense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Syracuse Schedule Analysis
NEXT: Syracuse Orange College Football Preview 2021: Top Players
Syracuse Orange College Football Preview 2021: Top Players
Best Syracuse Orange Offensive Player
WR Taj Harris, Jr.
One of the few big playmakers for the offense over the last few years, the 6-2, 172-pounder averaged close to 14 yards per grab with 135 catches for 1,857 yards and ten touchdowns over his three seasons. He’s a true No. 1 target who hit NC State for 13 catches for 146 yards and Duke for 138 yards, but now he needs the ball even more.
2. RB Sean Tucker, Fr.
3. OT Matthew Bergeron, Soph.
4. PK Andre Szmyt, Jr.
5. WR Anthony Queeley, Soph.
Related
2021 Syracuse Football Schedule: Analysis, Best and Worst Case Scenarios
Best Syracuse Orange Defensive Player
LB Mikel Jones, Soph.
He played last year at around 230 pounds on the weakside, but now he’s listed at 218 pounds on his 6-1 frame. The more he can do to make big things happen for a defense that needs playmakers, the better. He led the team with 68 tackles to go along with four interceptions, and going forward he should be used more as a pass rusher, too.
2. CB Garrett Williams, RFr.
3. LB Geoff Cantin-Arku, Soph.
4. DT McKinley Williams, Sr.
5. S Ja’Had Carter, Fr.
Top Incoming Syracuse Orange Transfer
QB Garrett Shrader, Soph.
The former Mississippi State Bulldog stepped in and got a little work in the 2019 season, throwing for 1,170 yards and eight touchdowns with five picks to go along with 587 rushing yards and six touchdowns. In came Mike Leach, and that was about it.
It’s hardly a guarantee that he gets the starting quarterback job at Syracuse, but at least he’ll provide a 6-4, 221-pound mobile option with SEC experience.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Syracuse Schedule Analysis
NEXT: Syracuse Orange College Football Preview 2021: Keys To The Season
Syracuse Orange College Football Preview 2021: Keys To The Season
Syracuse Orange Biggest Key: Offense
Stop someone from hitting the quarterback. Tommy DeVito might be the next Tom Brady, but it’s hard to know if he’s getting battered around in game after game. That goes for anyone who takes the Syracuse quarterbacking gig.
The offensive line hasn’t come close to getting the job done in pass protection over the last several years. It allowed 38 sacks in 11 games last season – and that’s an improvement after the 50 it gave up in 2019.
The Orange O line allowed just 21 sacks in 2015. For all of the good things head coach Dino Babers has done since taking over in 2016, the team has allowed 195 sacks – an average of 39 per year.
To put this into perspective, only two teams – South Alabama and Kansas – allowed more than 39 last year.
Syracuse Orange Biggest Key: Defense
Be a bit more consistently strong on run D. The Orange allowed 209 yards per game on the ground last season, giving up 2,300 yards and 24 touchdowns. It wasn’t so much that the run D was gouged for big dashes; it was more of a steady drip of production.
Four teams managed to come up with 275 rushing yards or more, but to be fair, it did a decent job at times allowing fewer than three yards per carry against Pitt, Louisville and NC State.
Syracuse Orange Key Player To A Successful Season
OT Matthew Bergeron, Soph.
It’s not that there isn’t talent and potential on the Syracuse offensive line that’s had so many issues. The 6-4, 315-pound Bergeron is a two-year starter who was a nice get for the Orange – he was one of the top prospects from Canada – and now he seems to have settled in at left tackle. This is where he has to come into his own as an all-star caliber pass protector to finally give the Syracuse quarterbacks time to work.
Syracuse Orange Key Game To The 2021 Season
at Florida State, Oct. 2
After going 1-10 last season there’s no safe game on the schedule, but if Syracuse is going to do anything this year, it needs to beat Ohio on the road and take down Albany, Liberty and – forget the blowout loss last year – Liberty at home.
Overall, the ACC schedule isn’t all that bad, but again, the Orange can’t take anyone for granted. Beat Florida State in Tallahassee – they’re 1-11 against the Noles since winning the first meeting back in 1966 – and a bowl game should be a near-lock.
– Syracuse Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2020 Syracuse Orange Fun Stats
– Time of Possession: Opponents 35:43 – Syracuse 24:17
– Red Zone Scores: Opponents 40-of-50 – Syracuse 14-of-21
– Rushing TDs: Opponents 24 – Opponents 5
NEXT: Syracuse Orange College Football Preview 2021: What Will Happen, Season Prediction
Syracuse Orange College Football Preview 2021: What Will Happen, Season Prediction
It was such a brutal year for the Orange with an almost all ACC schedule and the one extra date with Liberty – a 38-21 loss – that there’s no taking anything for granted.
More often than not, everyone will be looking at Syracuse as the free space win. But there’s too much experience and too much promise returning to not be a whole lot closer to the 5-7 team in 2019 than the 1-10 2020 version.
Even so, if this is going to be any sort of a good year – and if there isn’t a massive change overall in the program up top going into 2021 – beating Ohio on the road is a must, and getting by Rutgers, Albany, and Liberty would be nice.
At the very least – Liberty comes back loaded with veterans and Rutgers isn’t bad – going 3-1 is possible and likely.
Set The Syracuse Orange Regular Season Win Total At … 5.5
Outside of the date with Clemson, there’s not any one game the Orange can’t win. However, they’re probably going to be underdogs against just about everyone in ACC play.
There’s no Duke or Georgia Tech, but Syracuse could pull off a win or three against a Wake Forest here, Boston College there, or maybe even Pitt or Louisville.
Anything less than five wins would be totally disastrous, but has the team improved just enough to push for a bowl game for just the second time since 2013.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– Syracuse Schedule Analysis
