First Look: Syracuse Orange
The Boston College Eagles will look to get back in the win column Saturday when they to New York to face the Syracuse Orange. Our next piece of coverage looks at Dino Baber's squad, and breaks down their disappointing season to date.
Statistical Leaders
Passing: QB- Tommy DeVito (INJ) 593 yards 4 TD 2 INT, QB -Rex Culpepper 584 yards 6 TD 7 INT, QB- JaCobian Morgan 57 yards 1 TD 1 INT
Rushing: RB Sean Tucker 362 yards, 3 TD, RB Cooper Lutz 115 yards, WR Nykeim Johnson 81 yards
Receiving: WR Taj Harris 29 rec 446 yards 4 TD, WR Nykeim Johnson 15 rec 243 yards 3 TD, WR Anthony Queeley 24 rec 233 yards 1 TD
Tackles: LB Mikel Jones 49 tackles, LB Geoff Cantin-Arku 45 tackles, DB Garrett Williams 43 tackles
Tackles for Loss: DL McKinley Williams 5 TFL, LB Tyrell Richards 3.5 TFL, a trio of other defenders have 3 TFL
Sacks: LB Tyrell Richards 2.0 sacks, DL Josh Black 2.0 sacks, DL Kingsley Jonathan 2.0 sacks
Interceptions: DB Mikel Jones 3 INT, six other Orange players have an interception.
Head Coach
Dino Babers
Babers started off as a RB/DB for Hawaii from 1979-1983, from there he had various stops including Arizona, Pitt, Baylor and UCLA. He got his first head coaching experience at Eastern Illinois where he coached future NFL QB Jimmy Garoppolo. He had two successful years at Bowling Green before he was hired by Syracuse in 2016.
Now in his fifth season with the Orange, Babers has had his ups and downs with the program. The program had a historic upset over Clemson in 2017, went 10-3 in 2018, but has struggled the past two season going 6-13.
Offensive Overview
Led by offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert, the Orange is a team that lives and dies by speed. They want to go at a blistering pace and keep defenses gassed and unable to make adjustments. Unfortunately when the offense isn't working, that forces their defense to get on the field even quicker.
This offseason the Orange hired Gilbert, who was the head coach at McNeese State. He talked about how he might adjust the offense to the Dallas Morning News
“It’s kind of like all these barbecue restaurants around here. It depends on who you talk to,” Gilbert told the Dallas Morning News.
“It’s all barbecue, but there’s something a little different — the wood, the sauce, the sides, all that. It’s what you do different.”
Unfortunately for the offense, they lost their quarterback (DeVito) for the season, and the offensive line has let up the second most sacks in the country
Defensive Overview
Tony White took over as defensive coordinator this offseason, after two seasons as corner backs coach with the Arizona State Sun Devils. There he learned the 3-3-5 defensive scheme, that lines up three down linemen, three linebackers and five defensive backs. Jeff Hafley had this to say about the new DC at Syracuse:
Tony White, the defensive coordinator at Syracuse does a really nice job though. They'll line up with three down, four down, he moves a lot, he pressures a lot. He throws a lot at you. I have a lot of respect for him. When I was with the 49ers, he actually interned with us and we spent a lot of time together. He's a really good football coach, and he's a good person.
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