2013-14 Preview (ACC) Syracuse Orange
It wasn’t all that long ago that Syracuse was a pretty darn good program, led by players like Donovan McNabb and coaches like Dick MacPherson they more than held their own in the early days of the Big East.
But when they fell, they fell hard and it was difficult to put the pieces back together again.
Syracuse Orange
Coach: Scott Shafer
2012 Record: 8-5
Odds of winning BCS Championship: +2000 Field
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Enter coach Doug Marrone who coached them up to two 8 wins twice in 4 seasons, each capped with a win in the Pinstripe Bowl. Not exactly the highs of the Jim Brown era but respectable.
In moving to a new league, with a new coach in Scott Shafer I think all that Syracuse can reasonably expect is that – respectability. They are not only breaking in a new coach but a new quarterback too and the fact that they have scheduled a couple of tough non-conference games to start the season against Penn State and Northwestern won’t make it any easier.
All in all it is going to be too much for this team to handle so don’t expect too much.
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Even though the coach, offensive coordinator and quarterback are gone from last year’s team new coach Scott Shafer says he is going to maintain the same fast tempo West Coast style attack.
He has an emerging running star to rely on in RB Jerome Smith, who rushed for more than 1100 yards last year, as well as an offensive line with three starters returning.
Shafer is a defensive guy though so you wonder if he will have a lot of patience if the offense struggles in this transition year.
Last year QB Ryan Nassib led the second best passing attack in the Big East Conference. This season Oklahoma transfer Drew Allen is the main man but he is an unproven commodity as he threw a combined 30 passes in a backup role as a Sooner.
The fact that the Sooners recruited him given their stature and style of play says a lot about his potential but we will have to wait and see on the field.
His backup on the depth chart is a guy named Prince-Tyson Gulley. PTG is a great name but he has been playing at running back through three seasons at Syracuse and actually had a nice year running the ball for more than 800 yards last year for the Orange. Let’s just say depth could be an issue.
Shafer was the defensive coordinator last year and Syracuse was OK on that side, ranking in the top half of the nation in the major defensive categories. On this side of the ball 5 starters return and they are sprinkled across all levels of the defense. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
There is great optimism for this unit though as every projected starter is an upperclassman, however, you could probably also look at the numbers last year and say they might have been depressed by playing in the Big East Conference.
Since Shafer is a defense guy I want to give him the benefit of the doubt though.
2013-14 Record Projection: 4-8
Leaving the Big East before it collapsed was smart for Syracuse but I am not sure what the move to the ACC does for its football team. This year, there is going to be a lot of new stuff elements with this program whereas others are very established and there is a rash of senior QBs in this league.
Going 4-8 with a rookie head coach in a new league will be disappointing but I think this team should ultimately reside in the large middle of the new ACC. This year is especially tough because I don’t they will be able to win any of their conference road games. I really don’t think that Vegas will be underestimating this squad and you shouldn’t either.
They should be in most games at about the cover line unless the defense really falls apart for them because they don’t have the speed or talent to compete.
I would absolutely play against them @ Georgia Tech who should run all over them and then run some more.
2013 Syracuse Schedule
AUG 31 – Penn State
SEP 7 – @Northwestern
SEP 14 – Wagner
SEP 21 – Tulane
OCT 5 – Clemson
OCT 12 – @NC State
OCT 19 – @Georgia Tech
NOV 2 – Wake Forest
NOV 9 – @Maryland
NOV 16 – @Florida State
NOV 23 – Pittsburgh
NOV 30 – Boston College
