The Syracuse Orange head back Dome for their first home game of the season against the No. 1 Clemson Tigers. After being throttled by the Maryland Terrapins last weekend in College Park, the Orange fell out of the AP Top 25 Poll ending SU’s longest streak in the poll since it was ranked in 13-straight polls from Nov. 2, 1997 to the end of the 1998 season.
Syracuse (1-1), which opened the season with a 24-0 victory at Liberty, fell behind the Terrapins 42-13 at halftime and never recovered. Maryland totaled 650 yards of offense. The defensive dominance we saw the Orange pull of last season did not prevail last weekend causing their brutal loss. The loss against the Terps certainly is not a good look going into this weekend against their biggest ACC football rival.
After a 63-20 loss against the Terps, the Orange are now definitely the huge underdogs as they take on Clemson Saturday night. The last time the Orange hosted the Tigers, SU beat Clemson in a stunning upset that no one saw coming. The upset was a massive boost for Dino Babers and the future of SU Football leading them into a record breaking season last year. However, when they were in Death Valley last season they lost to the Tigers 27-23. The positive side to Clemson’s series of wins against SU is they haven’t held them by much. In 2015, Clemson managed only six second-half points, but survived 37-27 against the Syracuse team that entered the game with a 3-6 record.
Clemson is clearly an unknown quantity for Syracuse, but if the Orange want to hold anything against the Tigers it starts with offense. SU’s offensive line showed inexperience against Liberty and Maryland. Against Liberty, Syracuse’s passing game struggled. Quarterback Tommy Devito passed for 176 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions. SU’s offensive line’s inability to establish the run game may have kept the passing attack from gaining momentum resulting in DeVito’s slow game. Against the Terps last weekend, SU’s offensive line couldn't handle Maryland’s pass rush. DeVito got sacked four times and once again with turnovers and tossing an interception. Even with Shaq Smith, Maryland’s top defender, out of the game the Orange still struggled to put points on the scoreboard which is surprising after averaging more than 40 points a game in 2018. With now graduated Eric Dungy gone, the Orange not only lack a strong defensive end, but they now have a very inexperienced offensive line.
The offensive dominance coming this weekend from Clemson at the Dome will be a huge hurdle for the Orange after what we saw last weekend. During the Tiger’s two opening games of the season, we saw the team show off both their dominant offense and defense. Clemson’s defense against Georgia Tech and Texas A&M held their teams to only complete under 300 total yards the entire game. Using a quick passing game to attack defenses, Clemson is able to pull off successful offensive moves into the end zone. Therefore, for the Orange to pull of a win, they need to continue to pressure Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence to force those turnovers. A strong defensive attack is something SU lacked against Maryland as they barely touched quarterback Josh Jackson.
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Clemson is clearly the fan favorite going into the game, but the last two seasons have shown that Syracuse has the capability to keep up with the Tigers. There are a lot of circumstances surrounding the game including SU’s first home game, and the first football sellout at the Dome in more than 2 decades. Certainly a lot of Orange pride will radiate from fans at the Dome, but will SU be able to rise above pressure and pull out another upset. A lot of uncertainty surrounds Saturday night’s game, but we can probably guarantee it will get pretty ugly with this ACC rival matchup.