After a blowout week one loss that saw the Syracuse Orange get dominated 31-6 by the Tar heels, fans may have been throwing in the towel already. However, with a lackluster performance on offense, the defense for the most part of the game played very well and showed a glimmer of hope that the Orange may be alright this season. An improvement was definitely something that Orange fans and coaches saw in week two as they squared off against Pittsburgh. In the week two affair they lost a tight game, 21-10 against the 21st ranked team in the nation. However, to start turning these losses into wins there’s one big thing that needs to change.
Offense
Defense wins championships. However, your best defense can be a good offense. The way the Orange’s offense has played in the last two games has been very reflective on the scoreboard. In two games they’ve only mustered up 16 points combined. 16 points would be a low score for one game let alone two of them combined. So, what needs to change?
Tommy Devito has been extremely underwhelming, to say the least. This rising junior was supposed to take strides forward from his impressive sophomore season. However, he’s only taken strides back as of late. In his defense, he did lose star receiver Trishton Jackson and running backs Abdul Adams and Jarveon Howard. Although it’s no excuse to throw no touchdown passes in the first two weeks. Devito’s going to have to step it up if he gets the start in week three or the Orange’s season will be a miserable one.
Defense
The positive for this Orange team is their defense has battled extremely hard during the first two games. They have given their team a chance to win in each game. Both of the games had a four-point difference going into half time, as the defense battled their hearts out. However, as the offense kept striking out, it resulted in the defense getting thrown on the field constantly. It didn’t matter that they’ve combined for three interceptions, two fumbles, and five sacks in the first 2 games. If their offense doesn’t capitalize they will be thrown back on the field repeatedly.
This ultimately results in them being exhausted and it showed on the scoreboard. But, it was not short of effort or play that led to this score, it was just pure exhaustion. If the offense can turn it around and give the defense some rest while scoring some touchdowns, the Orange have a strong chance of winning week three.
Week 3
Georgia Tech
Georgia tech’s coming off a brutal loss to the University of Central Florida, and they will want redemption. The Yellow Jackets had high expectations coming into the CFB regular season after beating Florida state 16-13 in week one. The hype was believed to be real. However, their week two performance was disastrous as they got manhandled 49-21 over a very promising UCF team. The Yellow Jackets are going to be coming into the Carrier Dome with a killer mentality, doing whatever it will take to get the win. If Syracuse wants to win, they’re going to have to get to Freshman quarterback Jeff Sims early and often. Plus, Devito and the troops will have to rally some points up. It will be a key matchup in the ACC that will be a possible make or break game for the Orange.
