Rating Notre Dame's 2016 Foes: No. 9, Syracuse
Syracuse Orange
Date: Oct. 1
Kickoff Time: TBD
Site: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J.
Last Meeting: On Sept. 27, 2014 at MetLife Stadium — the same venue where the two teams will play again this year — Notre Dame won 31-15 despite committing five turnovers, four by quarterback Everett Golson, who also completed a school record 25 straight passes.
2015 Record: 4-8
The Orange opened 3-0 with victories against Rhode Island (47-0), Wake Forest (30-17) and Central Michigan (30-27) before going on an eight-game losing streak, starting with a respectable showing against LSU in a 34-24 defeat at home. It also lost at home by 10 to Clemson (37-27), which would play in the national title game, before ending the drought with a 20-17 win against Boston College the week after the Irish beat the Eagles, 19-16.
2016 Schedule
Sept. 2 – COLGATE
Sept. 9 – LOUISVILLE
Sept. 17 – SOUTH FLORIDA
Sept. 24 — at Connecticut
Oct. 1 – Vs. Notre Dame (East Rutherford, N.J.)
Oct. 8 – at Wake Forest
Oct. 15 – VIRGINIA TECH
Oct. 22 – at Boston College
Nov. 5 – at Clemson
Nov. 12 – NORTH CAROLINA STATE
Nov. 19 — FLORIDA STATE
Nov. 26 — at Pittsburgh
News From The Spring
• First-year head coach Dino Babers installed the up-tempo offense he utilized at Bowling Green (fourth nationally with 546.8 yards per contest last year) and said the pace was “okay.” Syracuse ran 155 total plays in the 90-minute-to-two-hour spring game, and the offense scored 13 touchdowns (10 passing), with starting dual-threat quarterback Eric Dungey completing 27-of-33 passes for 296 yards, seven touchdowns and one interception.
• The team’s top player, defensive end Ron Thompson, opted to forego his senior year to enter the NFL Draft. Thompson paced the 2015 team in sacks (7), QB hurries (5) and forced fumbles (4).
• In addition to losing Thompson, the defensive end spot was further ravaged when two freshmen (Amir Ealey and Qaadir Sheppard) were kicked off the team for a violation of team rules, reportedly for a second failed drug test.
Starters Returning
15, eight on offense and seven on defense.
The veteran offense is led by Dungey, who missed four games with an injury last season but still passed for 1,298 yards and rushed for 351. However, Syracuse was only 118th in total offense with a 319.9 average. It returns its top rusher in 215-pound Jordan Fredericks (607 yards, 5.7 yards per carry) and a solid receiving tandem in junior Steve Ishmael (39 catches, 14.6 yards per grab last year) and senior Brisley Estime (17 catches, 17.2 yards per catch). Estime also scored on two of his 15 punt returns.
On the other side of the ball, the Orange lack star power and finished 90th in scoring defense at 31.0 points per game.
Why We Rank Syracuse 9th Among The 12 Opponents
This was a coin flip between the Orange and the game preceding it, the home contest versus Duke, for the ninth and eighth spots. Even though the Irish host the Blue Devils and have to travel for the Syracuse game, we chose the Orange as the more favorable contest for a couple of reasons.
One, Notre Dame hosts Duke the week after coming off a night game and likely very physical showdown versus 2015 Playoff team Michigan State.
Two, while Duke graduated several top figures on both sides of the ball, plus star quarterback Thomas Sirk’s status is questionable after rupturing his left Achilles this winter, ninth-year head coach David Cutcliffe has done a wonderful job with the once moribund operation, leading Duke to a 27-13 record the past three years and its first bowl victory in 2015 since 1960. Conversely, Syracuse has to start over with a new head coach after finishing 7-17 the past two years.
Notre Dame Could Lose This Game If…
After three straight home games it comes out flat against Babers’ high tempo attack. This type of offense presented problems in 2014 to first-year Irish defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder, starting with the 50-43 win over North Carolina. However, overall VanGorder and the staff adjusted well in that area in their second go-around in 2015.
Notre Dame defeated Syracuse 31‑15 in 2014 despite committing five turnovers to the Orange’s one. If Syracuse could have another such turnover advantage, then it is capable of giving the Irish the kind of battle Boston College did last season in a 19-16 Notre Dame win.
Early Prediction (Subject to Change)
The Fighting Irish have not been dominant on the road. They lost to outstanding teams such as Clemson and Stanford on the road last year, but their average margin of victory in the other four outings versus Virginia, Temple, Pitt and Boston College was 6.5 points.
Still, Syracuse has not recruited at a Power 5 Conference level, finishing anywhere from 51st to 75th the last five recruiting cycles, per Rivals.com. And as good as defensive end Thompson was — the lone Orange player on offense or defense in 2015 to make the first three All-ACC units, or even honorable mention — he signed as an undrafted free agent. The Orange might have to lean on the new offense because it finished 90th in scoring defense at 31.0 points per game.
Babers’ wheelhouse has been prolific offenses and he has some experienced pieces to work with after going 37-16 the past four years at Bowling Green and Eastern Illinois. Eclipsing the four wins from 2015 and reaching .500 will be difficult, and likely hinge on more upgrades defensively.
Notre Dame 34, Syracuse 20