After losing to Florida State on Saturday, 35-17, Syracuse football dropped to 3-5 on the season. Last year, the Orange were 6-2 through eight games, but in 2019, SU is riding a three-game losing streak. Its defense has fluctuated between dominance and inconsistency while its offense has struggled all season behind an offensive line that’s allowed the most sacks in the nation.

Our beat writers answered pressing questions ahead of Syracuse’s final third of its season.

1. Is there a successful offensive element that SU can exploit in the final four games?

Eric Black: Screens and unconventional running plays are a pair of great ideas to revitalize the Syracuse offense, but utilizing the tight end position is a more straight-forward concept SU should reintegrate into its offense more. During two wins over Western Michigan and Holy Cross, the Orange scored 93 points and produced nearly identical performances through the air, combining for eight touchdowns. Tight ends Aaron Hackett and Luke Benson were used heavily during both games, totaling nine catches for 140 yards and four touchdowns. In the three games since, Benson has failed to record a reception and Hackett’s corralled five. It’s worth using the two of them more in the final four games not only because Benson’s proved to be one of the best athletes on offense, but Hackett’s one of Syracuse’s best red zone weapons.

Andrew Graham: Syracuse has had a pretty successful screen game so far this season, at least relative to the rest of the offense. SU’s litany of quick hitters to any number of its playmakers on the boundary has easily been SU’s most consistent, and consistently productive play, all season. This works, generally, because it takes the onus off the offensive line and pass protection to hold up for more than a second or so. Tommy DeVito can comfortably get the ball to one of Trishton Jackson, Sean Riley, Taj Harris, Nykeim Johnson, Moe Neal or Abdul Adams, among others. That’s not going to win them any games on its own, but it can be the seed for offensive growth.

Josh Schafer: For the sake of not repeating the benefits of a screen game, Syracuse has had success with unconventional running plays. Against Pittsburgh, Clayton Welch came in for long runs in spurts. Against North Carolina State, Abdul Adams jumpstarted a drive out of the wildcat formation. Last week, Syracuse saw firsthand what happens when a team switches up how it attacks the ground game when Florida State running back Cam Akers carved up the Orange defense out of the wildcat. It’s clear at this point in the season that Syracuse has failed to establish a run game in the first half of games against Power 5 opponents. Before defenses have dropped back in coverage to defend large leads, the Orange rushing game hasn’t produced. SU is tied for 114th in rushing yards per game. So if Syracuse can trick opponents and steal yards, it could make a huge difference in the offense.

Eva Suppa | Digital Design Editor

2. Is it time for Syracuse to look ahead and start preparing personnel for the 2020 season or should the Orange try to salvage their season?

E.B.: Yes to both. Obviously it’s way too early for SU to throw in the towel and give up on this year, even though it’s increasingly looking like a lost season. Syracuse can still win out or go 3-1 and make the season worth it. But its bowl game chances are slipping so why not start using younger personnel on both sides of the ball? At this point, if the Orange began using players like Courtney Jackson, Cameron Jordan or Mikel Jones more, their level of play wouldn’t slip as much as one would expect. In fact, it may even improve.

A.G.: This weekend against Boston College is a bit of a bellwether for me on if Syracuse can salvage anything. Until the Orange can’t win six games, it seems a bit odd, at least, to say it’s not worth trying to make a bowl game. But that has to start with a win this weekend. Boston College presents a somewhat manageable matchup and shouldn’t do anything SU hasn’t seen before. But if they come out and can’t get any offense going, why should I think they’ll do it at Duke? Or at Louisville? Or against a ranked Wake Forest? I’ll say not yet, but Syracuse is running out of time before it should start looking to 2020.

J.S.: Syracuse could still finish this season 7-5 and head to a bowl game. You told fans and members of the program two years ago that SU would finish 7-5 in 2019 I don’t think anyone would be all up in arms. Now, is it likely based on what we’ve seen that Syracuse wins its final four regular season games? No. But that doesn’t mean the team should start training for next season yet. That’s the kind of thing you can do in perhaps the final game of the year if it’s meaningless, but it’s still hard to fully commit to that. If you’re going to start playing guys who are preparing for 2020, they’d presumably be playing over an upperclassmen who have waited for their moment. I’m not sure, particularly if the games are meaningless, if it’s worth taking the final moments of football away from seniors. If the older guys are better, they should play. The regular season isn’t training camp.

Eva Suppa | Digital Design Editor

3. Are this season’s struggles a fluke or indicative of where SU’s football program is?

E.B.: This is a tough question because of how drastically different this season has been compared to last. With a 4-8 or 5-7 finish appearing very possible, if not likely right now, that’d be three out of four years under Dino Babers in which the Orange failed to make a bowl game. But there’s no reason that next year can’t be another eight, nine or 10-win season. In reality, SU’s football program likely lays in the middle of the pack of the ACC, if not slightly better. The talent of the individual players on this year’s team adds up to more than a sub-.500 level team, but injuries and inexperience have prevented it from reaching its potential. During the next few seasons, barring anything unexpected, Syracuse should be good for six to eight regular-season wins a year.

A.G.: I think Syracuse football’s true happy spot is finishing the regular season with anywhere from nine to seven wins, being competitive in the ACC and making a bowl game. They over exceeded those expectations last year and are vastly underperforming to them this year. Under Dino Babers, this team will realistically middle out to some extent. The 2018 season involved a bunch of former three-star and worse recruits becoming greater than the sum of their parts. This year is a slightly depleted roster, battered by injuries. Babers has been correct in assessing youth as a primary issue this season, but even as these players get older, the grass is only going to get so much greener.

J.S.: It’s indicative of where the SU football stands as a whole because it’s hard to build a complete team in the ACC. Last year, Syracuse finished the year with outstanding offense and special teams, and a solid defense. That’s a rarity in the ACC — just look at the records across the conference this year. The main reason why Syracuse is even worse than the rest of the conference thus far is the Orange’s holes are in the worst places. The defense has held its own this year while the offense has stalled. If you can’t score points, you can’t win. If you can’t block, you can’t score points. That’s where SU sits right now, struggling to clear holes for runners and keep Tommy DeVito upright. In future years, Syracuse may not be a complete team again but if the weakness is at a different spot than the offensive line, bowl games will be more likely.

Published on October 31, 2019 at 12:11 am