The Syracuse Orange are in the middle of a building process. The ACC Atlantic is a hugely difficult division, arguably the toughest division in college football. Syracuse and second-year head coach Dino Babers cannot expect to completely change their results. What will truly matter this season is simply a noticeable improvement in how they play. Babers improved Bowling Green from year one to year two, getting the kind of tempo he wanted from his offense. He will try to do the same thing again with Syracuse and bolster his reputation as a guy who can significantly improve programs in his first two years on the job.
How Did They End 2016
Syracuse ended 2016 by giving up 76 points to the Pittsburgh Panthers. The fact that the Orange scored 61 points, though, indicated that their offense was certainly moving in the right direction. Syracuse spent 2016 trying to learn Babers’ system and to realize how important it was to operate his offense at a very fast pace and use volume of plays to overwhelm an opposing defense. If scoring 61 points means that the offense will enter 2017 with a much better understanding of how it needs to play – and that understanding leads to better results – the loss to Pittsburgh would have been worth it. Syracuse had a few notable moments from the past season, chiefly an inspired performance in a 31-17 upset of Virginia Tech, but any of the good things Syracuse did last year did not last very long. The next season will be an attempt to sustain what’s good and not fall into bad habits.
Offseason Changes
Linebackers Marquez Hodge and Ted Taylor are gone, and while losing players can easily be seen as a negative, the weaknesses of the Syracuse defense mean that losing players from a bad group could actually be a positive. At any rate, with changing personnel, Syracuse’s staff needs to make sure its defense comes back stronger and better fortified. The Orange were torn apart by Louisville and Heisman winner Lamar Jackson in addition to Pittsburgh. Wholesale improvements are needed on that side of the ball.
Team X-Factor
Linebackers Zaire Franklin and Jonathan Thomas are two expected keys as the replacements for Hodge and Taylor. The offense is coming along but the defense has to find a way to contain opponents and keep Syracuse in games. The standard for what the defense needs to do is not high on a conceptual level. Allowing 30 points per game would really not be bad at all. It sounds bad, but it’s not. Syracuse’s defense just needs to avoid getting demolished. It can live with modest performances – it just can’t have the complete breakdowns.
What To Expect From The Orange This Year
Syracuse will almost certainly play better than it did last year. The offense should have even more continuity and operate efficiently. The defense won’t play well, but it is hard to be worse than it was last season. The problem for the Orange is that they play in a loaded division. The only teams they can expect to beat are Boston College and Wake Forest, no one else.
Record Last 5 Seasons
2016: 4-8
2015: 4-8
2014: 3-9
2013: 7-6
2012: 8-5
Schedule & Outlook
For most teams, the Orange’s schedule wouldn’t be overly challenging but for a team like this, they’ll struggle. they start with Central Connecticut State and Middle Tennessee State, which should result in wins. They might even win Week 3 home to Central Michigan. After that, things get dicey. They’ll go to LSU and to NC State. Later in the year they’ll host Clemson and then go to Miami, Florida State and Louisville. Other than beating Pitt and/or Wake Forest at home, it doesn’t look like there are any projected wins.
Syracuse will have an extremely hard time making a bowl game at 6-6, given the competitiveness and depth of the ACC. A 5-7 season would not exactly be satisfying, but it would reflect improvement, and that is not a bad thing for the Orange, in the middle of a larger process under Babers. That would still be good enough to go over.
Regular Season Win Total Prediction: Over 4.5
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