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After a 29-9 offensive onslaught over Ohio, Syracuse fell 17-7 against Rutgers in week two. The Orange’s special teams and offensive units struggled against the Scarlet Knights, with three turnovers over the course of the game. This week, Syracuse will take on a Football Championship Subdivision squad in UAlbany. SU has never lost to an FCS team.

Head coach Dino Babers said he still is interested in an ongoing quarterback battle between Tommy DeVito and Mississippi State transfer Garrett Shrader, despite DeVito playing three quarters against Rutgers. Shrader played the second quarter against the Scarlet Knights, and while that disrupted DeVito’s flow, this was something Babers expected. He said will let the quarterbacks “compete” in the Carrier Dome again this week.

“Based off how many points we scored last week, I’m not using the word tuneup with anybody,” Babers said.

Here’s what our beat writers expect when the Orange face the Great Danes:

Roshan Fernandez (2-0)
Tuneup?
Syracuse 34, Albany 6

Dino Babers was spot on when he said Syracuse isn’t treating this game like a tuneup, considering its lack of offensive production in its 17-7 loss against Rutgers. But the truth is that while Syracuse’s defeat on Saturday didn’t point to many promising signs on offense or special teams this season, it’ll take a lot to lose to an FCS team for the first time in program history. The Orange’s defense was encouraging against Rutgers, holding the Scarlet Knights scoreless until midway through the third quarter. The special teams should be working on limiting those miscues. Syracuse won’t outright call this game a tuneup, but if the Orange play their cards right, that’s exactly what it should turn into.

Connor Smith (1-1)
Bounce back week
Syracuse 42, Albany 3

Syracuse needed a week to fix its offensive and special teams issues and get in better shape before entering conference play. That week comes with FCS opponent Albany, who has its own offensive issues and has started the season 0-2. Babers wants to see one of his quarterbacks, DeVito or Shrader, win the starting quarterback battle on the field, and playing against the Great Danes will be a good opportunity for one of them to do that. SU will have a size advantage at the line of scrimmage and a speed advantage on the outsides. This game should be a blowout at halftime, and expect to see the Orange’s bench players receiving significant snaps in the second half.

Anish Vasudevan (2-0)
Just keep swimming
Syracuse 30, Albany 10

The Orange have never lost to an FCS team, and while Syracuse has met lows in recent times (such as finishing last season with its worst record since 2005), falling to Albany would be a new low. All Syracuse needs to do in this game is try and put together a complete 60 minutes, something that it hasn’t done at all this year. But this might be a tough task, as the Orange might be without cornerback Garrett Williams and will most likely have two losses in their secondary following free safety Ben Labrosse’s departure from the team. Still, without two starters, Syracuse’s 3-3-5 defense shouldn’t allow more than 10 points, as Albany hasn’t put up more than 14 points in its two games this season. The Orange’s key to victory is just trying to perfect their own play and keep their head above water.

Published on September 15, 2021 at 7:49 pm