2010 Syracuse Orange Football Preview

2009 Results: 4-8, No Bowl

Head Coach: Doug Marrone (2nd year, 4-8 Overall)

Home Venue: Carrier Dome (49,262)

Syracuse underwent an extensive program makeover under new coach Doug Marrone last season, a badly needed change from the terrible tenure of former coach Greg Robinson. Since taking over, nearly 30 players have left the program and a new discipline has been instilled by the former ‘Cuse player. Can the continued improvement on fundamentals help usher this young team towards the postseason?

OFFENSE

While the modest 21 points per game scored by the Orange last season doesn’t seem like an achievement, it was more points than Syracuse scored in any season under Robinson! Part of the reason for their improvement was the one season stopover of former Duke basketball player Chris Paulus (2,024 yards, 13 TDs, 14 INT), who stabilized the position and prevented ‘Cuse from fielding a freshman QB.

That changes this fall as Ryan Nassib (3 TDs in ’09), now a sophomore, is the leader of the offense. After a full season of watching and learning last year, he won’t have to jump headfirst into the fire and that should allow him to be a more effective quarterback. Unfortunately, he doesn’t start off with a great set of receivers, though junior Marcus Sales (28 catches, 324 yards, 3 TDs) and sophomore Alec Lemon (29 catches, 295 yards, 1 TD) have the talent to turn into a decent starting tandem.

On the plus side, Nassib should have a decent running game to help balance out the offense. Senior Delone Carter (1,021 rush yards, 11 catches, 117 receiving yards, 12 total TDs) is the top tailback and he should be in line for another big year. With solid junior Antwon Bailey (312 yards, 1 TD) serving as his understudy, the Orange should have an improved running game. However, they will have to run behind a line that only returns two starters, though senior center Ryan Bartholomew was a 2nd Team All-Big East choice last season. Still, the line is a big concern due to inexperience and a severe lack of talent from Robinson’s terrible recruiting.

Overall, Syracuse has a lot of youth in key places, especially on the O-Line and at quarterback. However, Marrone has a great offensive background so I expect another season of decent production. Furthermore, a relatively easy schedule in the early going should help the young Orangemen get their feet wet. That said, this will still be one of the Big East’s weakest offenses and their inexperience could result in a very hot and cold season scoring points.

DEFENSE

There was incredible improvement from the ‘Cuse run defense last season, allowing almost 90 fewer yards per game to end up leading the conference against the rush! This was largely due to serious improvement from their front seven but new Defensive Coordinator Scott Shafer also deserved credit as well. Can the Orange continue to be stout on the ground?

I would hazard that ‘yes’ is the correct answer, as six of the starting front seven return. Up front, sophomore DE Chandler Jones (52 tackles, 1.5 sacks) broke out as a redshirt frosh last year and could just be scratching the surface of his ability. While this group will miss 1st Team Big East nose tackle Arthur Jones, who was a 5th round NFL draft pick, there is a ton of depth back and a similarly strong showing in the trenches is expected. However, they do not generate a lot of pass rush, meaning that the linebackers are going to be relied upon once more to get to the quarterback.

What really put the puzzle pieces together for this run defense are the excellent linebackers behind the Orange’s solid D-Line. Seniors Derrell Smith (82 tackles, 6.5 sacks, 4 Forced Fumbles) and Doug Hogue (72 tackles, 9.5 sacks, INT) were 2nd Team All-Big East selections and sophomore E.J. Carter (24 tackles, 2 sacks) started eight games as a true freshman. Obviously, this group seems to always send a blitzing ‘backer at the quarterback but they do great to the quarterback with great frequency. I believe that the starting three here rivals any team in the league in terms of production and athleticism.

I’m a little less optimistic about the secondary, though it returns intact with three senior starters. Safeties Mike Holmes (77 tackles, 3 INT) and Max Suter (71 tackles, 1 sack, 1 INT) are both very talented and have been major players for their entire careers at Syracuse. Meanwhile, sophomore Phil Thomas (29 tackles, 2 INT) had a great true freshman campaign and seems primed for a bigger season. While there is a lot of experience, this unit still allowed opposing QBs to complete 65% of their passes last year and was ranked at the bottom of the league through the air. I think they’ll improve with a full year’s experience in the defense under their belts, but I don’t expect a great aerial defense this fall.

Overall, I like the Orange to continue their evolution on defense. The first year of the Marrone era showed a 5 point improvement in points scored per game by opponents and I expect Syracuse to improve once more upon last season’s 28 points allowed per game. While it would be tough to expect them to finish atop the league against the run for the 2nd consecutive year, the Orange will be more balanced and that could create a better result on the scoreboard.

> Buy Syracuse clothing & apparel and find a great selection of college Fathead helmets online through College Sports Fans!

SCHEDULE

Syracuse has a non-conference schedule that is worthy of both praise and derision. On one hand, they play at Washington and host Boston College, two bowl-caliber BCS conference opponents. That deserves a lot of credit. On the other hand, they play two D-1AA opponents in back to back weeks in the early going and these blatant grabs for victories deserve some serious scorn. Come one, ‘Cuse, you play in a BCS conference, back to back D-1AA opponents is shameful!

In conference, the Orange face four league road games and two of their home games are against expected contenders Pitt and UConn, leaving the clash with lowly Louisville as their best home shot for a victory. Overall, Syracuse faces nine BCS Conference opponents and has six home games, so with the exception of two D-1AA teams, this is a fair but challenging schedule.

OUTLOOK

I’ll go on record saying that I’m a fan of what Marrone has done with the program since taking over. While some will criticize his discipline as overly harsh, the majority of the Robinson-era players that he inherited were severely in need of a change of attitude on and off the field as an environment lacking accountability had grown. After all, Syracuse hasn’t won more than six games in a season since 2001, so there were obviously a lot of changes that needed to be made.

And I think we saw the first stage of that success on the field last year. Syracuse’s point margin in 2008 was a minus 14.6 points per game en route to a 3 win season. In 2009, they improved to minus 6.7 points per game and went 4-8. I fully expect that trend of improvement to continue this season as Marrone builds the program back towards respectability.

In 2010, I think that Syracuse will field one of the league’s better run defenses and an improved passing defense. I also think that they’ll continue to improve their scoring defense. With ten starters back, that’s not really a stretch to imagine happening. Meanwhile, their offense has a lot of production to replace but another season of experience for a few key young players should definitely pay off and I think that their starting wideouts are in for a much better season. While their line is a concern, I expect the offense to at least be as productive as it was in 2009.

Combine all of that together with a non-conference schedule that seems likely to result in a 3-2 mark and Syracuse becomes a contender for a bowl berth this season. While I think that they have too many holes to overcome in the Big East to get to 6-6, I would not be shocked whatsoever if the Orange found a way to get it done. After all, it only takes one upset. While I am picking Syracuse to finish 7th in the Big East and fall just short of a bowl berth at 5-7 overall, I really like the direction that this program is going and expect to see the Orange return the postseason on a consistent basis in the future.

PREDICTED RESULT: 5-7 (2-5 Big East)