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In last week’s Monday press conference, Syracuse head coach Dino Babers said that he’d “be surprised” if the Orange offense didn’t go back to 4-0 form after three-straight conference losses. Clemson, UNC and Florida State outscored Syracuse by 88 points over that span, and the offensive struggles persisted against the Hokies. With that differential growing to 116 after Thursday’s game, Babers’ comments aged poorly.

Babers said the stretch of games following the Atlantic Coast Conference skid would be less competitive, making the offensive issues the team dealt with less apparent. Yet, Virginia Tech’s pass rush is among the best in the country, and it bullied the SU offensive line throughout. Those struggles dug an insurmountable hole as SU trailed by 27 points at the half.

Syracuse (4-4, 0-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) has four games remaining, all of which are against conference foes who have similar records. The Orange must win at least half of those to make a bowl game, and Babers knows they must improve offensively to do so.

Here are some observations from Babers’ weekly press conference three days after getting blown out by the Hokies, 38-10:

What happened in Blacksburg?

Babers said he went back and “really watched the tape” to see where Syracuse went wrong against Virginia Tech. The biggest thing, he said, was the momentum. They got walloped early and couldn’t adjust in time.

With zero net rushing yards and eight sacks allowed in the 28-point loss, there weren’t many positives for the SU offense. On most plays, at least one person was doing something wrong, Babers said, and those mistakes piled up, putting the Orange in tough spots.

“When you get that many sacks it’s hard to overcome those down and distances, and we have to stay out of those 3rd-down-and-longs,” Babers said. “That’s the focus and that’s what we need to get back to. For Virginia Tech, the men inside were exceptional. Their 1 and 3 techniques were exceptional and they really gave our guards trouble.”

The offensive line has been particularly bad this season, allowing over three sacks per game. Prior to this week, SU had a collective film review to try and get back on track. After their fourth-straight loss, the Orange honed in on specific assignments with individual and positional film breakdowns.

“It’s been long,” Babers said. “There’s been a lot of studying, a lot of individual time with players and coaches and I think we probably know ourselves better than we did at the bye.”

He added that they’ve made one change to their practice and preparation based on what the film showed, but he wouldn’t specify further.

Injury updates: Ellis, Bellamy and Pena

The Orange have had multiple players get injured who have yet to return to the field. The most significant injury was to Jayden Bellamy, who was taken to the hospital after suffering an early injury. The x-rays came back negative, but Babers wouldn’t commit to his availability against Boston College.

Offensive guard Kalan Ellis, meanwhile, is officially redshirting this season after appearing in just one game. Babers said he has a Lisfranc injury, the same as Oronde Gadsden II, and recently had surgery to repair it. There was no update on wide receiver Trebor Pena. Jakob Bradford and Umari Hatcher’s statuses are both up in the air, but Babers said he’s hopeful they can both return this week.

SU’s offensive depth has dwindled throughout the season, and it could potentially be without key players on Friday. After the loss, Shrader said it was difficult to create chemistry with newer players. Babers concurred.

“That’s built up over time,” Babers said of Shrader’s chemistry with Gadsden. “That’s June, that’s July, that’s August. And then you get into game time. When you lose a guy like that, it’s not an excuse, you have to put other people in there, but I’m looking for that continuity of where that next connection is going to be.”

Babers’ future

Syracuse’s failures have attracted the attention of national media. In the midst of last week’s blowout, the Editor-in-Chief of The Athletic’s college football coverage, Stewart Mandel, posted that “it may be time to talk about Dino Babers.”

“I’m not going to talk about that. I’m going to talk about Boston College,” Babers said when asked if he’s spoken to Athletic Director John Wildhack since the loss to VT. “The answer to your question is no, let’s stay focused on the games please.”

Syracuse.com reporter Chris Carlson followed up, asking Babers if he thinks he deserves to be back next year if the team makes a bowl game. Babers stared at him for a moment before stating, “next question.” He also acknowledged former quarterback Eric Dungey’s comments on ESPN radio, where he said that it looked like Syracuse had given up, among other criticisms. Some of it he agreed with, but some he did not.

“The part I don’t agree with is the guys quitting,” Babers said. “There were some things that were addressed that he said, and I think he was right.”

Preparing for Boston College

While he didn’t get many questions about it, the most pressing issue on Babers’ docket is Boston College. After four-straight three-and-outs began the game against VT, the Orange offense has been focusing on starting fast against the Eagles.

“I cannot give you the details of that, but I can look you dead in the eye as I am right now and tell you that I took that personally,” Babers said of the sluggish offense last week. “And I am really hoping and I have faith that we will have that opportunity. The other team is going to try and stop us, but we like to think that we will have the opportunity to start fast.”

A win against the Orange would give Boston College a bowl game berth. For SU, the game is the first of two steps to qualify for a bowl game. For both sides, the matchup is crucial. Naturally, Babers implored SU fans to pack the Dome in its first home game in over a month.

“Hoping the fans are going to be there as our 12th man,” Babers said. “There’s no place like Dome, and this is the perfect time for us to come home. It’s exactly what the doctor ordered.”

Published on October 30, 2023 at 5:39 pm

Contact Wyatt: wbmiller@syr.edu