Keys to the Game: Previewing Syracuse at North Carolina

Syracuse has a tough draw in Week One as they open the season on the road at No. 18 North Carolina. The Tar Heels moved the ball at will last season, but the Orange's new 3-3-5 defense could prove challenging for UNC's second-year QB.

SYRACUSE, NY — The Orange have a tough draw in Week One. Syracuse will travel to Chapel Hill to face No. 18 North Carolina in National Champion head coach Mack Brown’s second season back with the Tar Heels. UNC’s balanced offensive attack and opportunistic defense makes them legitimate contenders for the ACC crown. Defensive coordinator Tony White’s new 3-3-5 will need to force mistakes early and the Orange offensive line will need showcase some much needed improvement from last season. Below are Syracuse’s keys to the game in Week One.

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PICK YOUR POISON

Should you sell out to stop the run? Or should you camp out deep to prevent the big play? This is the dilemma head coach Dino Babers and his coaching staff find themselves in as they prepare for this less-than-favorable opening week match-up.

North Carolina quarterback and reigning ACC Rookie of the Year Sam Howell will most definitely keep Orange defenders honest. Howell’s 38 touchdown passes in 2019 set a school record and the Tar Heel air assault garnered ACC runner-up honors with 474 total yards per game. Despite entering just his second season as a starter, Coach Babers says he’ll have to prepare for a Sunday talent between now and Saturday night.

“You're talking about a person that a lot of people say is the second best quarterback in the conference,” Babers said to members of the media on Monday. “He's got a big time arm. He can touch the entire football field. There's no doubt about it. One of those future draft choices that are going to come out high I'm sure.”

Howell’s job is made easy thanks to a pair of deep threats in his receiving corps, Dazz Newsome and Dyami Brown. Newsome and Brown each scorched opposing defenses for at least 1,000-yards receiving and ten touchdown grabs last season. Both will command their fair share of respect from the Syracuse secondary. Careful not to yield too much cushion, though. The Heels will have their feet firmly planted on the ground with an equally lethal rushing onslaught.

The old cliche of “thunder and lighting” aptly describes Carolina’s robust rotation of tailbacks. The 2019 jab, uppercut combination of Michael Carter and Javonte Williams pounded a combined 1,936-yards in the ground game. The quick-twitched Carter darted for an average of six-yards per tote while Williams delivered the punishing blows up the middle.

Babers wasn’t keen on showing any cards during his virtual press availability on Monday, but he knows he’ll have his hands full this weekend.

“You have to find a way to stop North Carolina,” Babers said bluntly. “They have both of those options. So obviously, you have to decide what's the most important thing to stop that gives your team the best chance to stay within the 21-point spread.

“So we're going to choose one. We're going to probably lean on that, maybe we’ll Rolodex at every blue moon to try to keep them off balance, but they're a good football team. And if you if you let them do everything, you're probably not going to stop anything. So you better try to take something away. “

Take-away is precisely what the Syracuse defense will have to do if they want to pull-off the early season upset on the road. White’s unconventional 3–3-5 should create enough confusion in the mind of the young Carolina quarterback, hopefully trapping him into some ill-advised and off-target throws. The Orange will be counting on the genesis of a sophomore slump, however. Howell was picked-off only seven times all of last season.

PROTECT DEVITO

It goes without saying that any defensive success on Saturday will be meaningless if Orange quarterback Tommy DeVito isn’t able to make plays on the other side of the ball. In order for that to happen, he’ll have to stay off the turf. The offensive line has received continuous criticism for their porous protection in 2019. With a new season, however, comes a chance for redemption. It requires a lot of self-confidence and mental fortitude to stand-up to almost a year’s worth of unchecked disapproval . The time has finally come for Syracuse’s front five to offer their rebuttal. An opportunity Babers says they’ve been waiting for.

“Scrappy, proudful guys,” Babers said describing his offensive line.  “I tell you guys that I like to read everything. If I can get my hands on it, I'm going to read it. I don't think they read much, but I think they have a real feel for what you guys feel they are. And I think they're very excited to start a new season to prove you guys wrong.“

Their first assignment will be keeping quarterback turned linebacker Chazz Surratt out of the backfield. The first-team All-ACC defender announced his arrival with authority last season. Surrat led his team with 66 solo tackles and added to the chaos with 6.5 sacks. Babers says seeing Surrat on tape opened his eyes to the clear advantage a former signal caller has snuffing out plays on defense.

“I see a quarterback playing defense that's hard to fool and plays with fantastic effort,” Babers said glowingly of Surratt.

“The guy just doesn't miss a lot of tackles. It's really impressive to see a quarterback come over there and have that type of impact from a tackling standpoint that early in his career on defense. And then, from the mental part of it, you can just see him, whether he's getting a tackle for loss or making an interception, he just thinks like a quarterback on the defensive side of the ball.”

KEEP IT CLOSE

This may seem like a tall order considering Carolina’s capable of scoring just about anyway they see fit, but they weren’t always clutch when things came down to the wire in 2019. The Tar Heels had a 3-6 record in games decided by seven-points or fewer last season. This is an area that the second-year QB Howell will be looking to improve upon this time around, but its going to be Week One for everybody. The Orange are banking on a little rust to help slow-down the young gun-slinger right out of the gate. Syracuse was 0-2 in one-score games a year ago.

Syracuse won a close one the last time these teams met in 2018, holding off North Carolina 40-37. ‘Cuse leads the series all-time three games to two.