This is very much a make or break season for Dino Babers. Babers is in his third year as the head coach of the Syracuse Orange. While the Orange have certainly been more exciting under his watch, playing at breakneck speed, he has not been able to lead the school to winning seasons. Syracuse went 4-8 in both 2016 and 2017, and the oddsmakers don’t have much faith in the school entering 2018. Babers will be looking to prove them wrong, because if he doesn’t he might be out of a job at the end of the season.
Syracuse 2018 regular season win total
Over 4.5 (-110)
Under 4.5 (-120)
Odds courtesy of BetDSI Sportsbook
What Happened Last Year
Syracuse pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the season in 2017. The Orange were 23.5-point underdogs heading into their game against Clemson, but they were able to move the ball on the Tigers defense all game long. Their pace gave one of the best defenses in the country fits, leading to the Orange pulling off a stunning 27-24 victory.
Unfortunately, that ended up being Syracuse’s last win of the season. After the victory, they were 4-3 and many called for them to go to a bowl. However, following narrow losses on the road against Miami and Florida State, the defense ran out of gas and gave up 54 PPG over their last three games.
What Will Change This Year
Eric Dungey is one of the most experienced quarterbacks in the conference, and that should give Syracuse a boost. Dungey has been Babers’ go-to guy ever since the latter took the job with the Orange, and the former has been productive in the system. Unfortunately, injuries have derailed Dungey in all three seasons and his home/road splits are a bit alarming. He won’t have Steve Ishamel to throw to this year, but he should put up good numbers as long as he stays healthy.
That will put the pressure on the offensive line. Dungey runs often so he is bound to get knocks, but they must limit the number of times he is brought down behind the line. There are three starters returning to this offensive line, as well as left guard Aaron Roberts who sat out last year with a torn ACL.
This defense must improve. Syracuse’s offense does put its defense in bad situations at times with quick three and outs, but that’s the system Babers runs. Babers has stuck with Brian Ward as his defensive coordinator over the last three seasons, and the unit needs to take a step forward if Syracuse is to make a bowl. There are six returning starters from last year, with cornerbacks Scoop Bradshaw and Chris Fredrick being the strength of the unit.
Outlook & Prediction
Many are predicting Syracuse to be at the bottom of the pecking order in the ACC once more, which would spell trouble for Babers. The non-conference schedule is manageable though, and they could get three wins from those games. I think this team will improve on last year’s number, but just barely. This feels like a 5-7 team, but the Orange could go bowling with a little bit of luck.
