After getting dominated in Maryland last week, the Orange get to face the defending champion and #1 ranked Clemson in their home opener on Saturday. Let’s breakdown last week’s loss against the Terrapins:
Run Game – The run game was pretty much non-existent for the Orange last week. Maryland seemed to have a great scheme to halt the ground attack that gained nearly 200 yards the week prior. This hurt them throughout the game by not getting anything going on 1st downs which put the pressure on the passing game.
Defense – When you let up 350+ yards on the ground, more chances than not the game will be a blowout. Maryland pounded the ball early and seemed to not miss a beat from their performance against Howard. The Syracuse defense was just simply not ready for Josh Jackson and Co.
DeVito – One of the bright things to take away from the game. I personally thought DeVito looked comfortable. He threw for 330 and 3 TDs with his lone mistake being an interception. But it just seemed like the Orange defense was on the field for 90% of the game and didn’t give DeVito and the offense a fair shot in this one.
Clemson
Is their anything bad about this team? From the two games I’ve watched, they’ve dominated both sides of the football. Their first game was against a lousy Georgia Tech team, but last week was against a well-coached and historically good football team. Texas A&M has had a lot of good press going into the season, but the Tigers shut them down. In my book, Clemson won by 3 scores because the Aggie’s scored late to get it a 14-point deficit (and backdoor cover). Trevor Lawrence seems to have thorough control of the offense and Dabo seems to have the defense hungry and gritty so far.
Prediction
I don’t think this one is rocket science, the Orange are going to have to play a nearly perfect football game to pull off the upset. But there are three minor things they have going for them. First, it’s their first home game and it’s sold out. And the fact that it’s a night game will ensure the CNY fans are ROWDY. Second, this is Clemson’s first road game. Being a former college-athlete, it’s always different going on the road. You get thrown off your routine, not accustomed to the environment, and it’s just a different vibe when there are 40,000+ people rooting against you for the first time. Lastly, ‘Cuse has historically played the Tigers well. Dino has had Dabo’s number the past two years. This gives me hope that Dino will use film from past years to provide a scheme for the team in this one.
But like I said, ‘Cuse is going to have to fly around the field to keep up with this team. There’s a ton of hype not only in CNY, but around the ACC about this match-up because they know Clemson has struggled with ‘Cuse as one late. I think it’s going to be a mirror image of last years game. Syracuse is going to hang around the first half, come out in the second with some fire, but then the Tigers will more than likely take over late. ‘Cuse will cover the spread but fall short of the upset.
Please prove me wrong Syracuse.
Clemson 34, Syracuse 20
GO ORANGE!
-Pat LaDouce
Photo Credit: Tommy Gilligan
Pat's Odds and Ends 