Well folks, it’s one of everyone’s least favorite weekends of the year: the Syracuse game. Despite the Tigers holding a 10-2 record against the Orange since ‘Cuse joined the conference in 2013, this game often is three hours of stress for Tiger fans. To break things down, we’ve got Tanner Jace from Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician to help us break down this week’s game. Before we dig in a reminder that Section 103 has an amazing selection of gear for Tiger fans, and with an every growing selection of schools,
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Shakin the Southland: Fran Brown has brought a lot of attention to Syracuse football and has gotten some big wins. However, he went 3-9 last season and is sitting at 4-4 right now. How are ‘Cuse fans feeling about him going forward?
Nunes Magician: The fan base is a mixed bag, a few weeks ago there was a portion of the fan base that would have wanted Brown fired due to the lack of performance this year. Last year is truly a free pass due to losing Angeli for the season in last year’s Clemson game and how the season both peaked and ended on that day. The four losses were a terrible start to the year, close losses, penalty issues, kicking issues all added up and it angered the fanbase. The team’s performance the last two weeks has made the fanbase rethink their initial thoughts of the program and of Fran Brown. The performance of the team and Fran Brown are night and day compared to what they were two weeks ago.
STS: What was the big difference in the win over SMU vs what you’ve seen from Syracuse in other games this year? Were the Orange able to do something successful against the Mustangs that they hadn’t been able to hit on the rest of the year?
NM: The established identity of the trenches. The offensive line over the last two weeks has really found its stride, the ground game has been an anchor in the two game winning streak. The running game for the Orange has out rushed its last two opponents in a total of 166 yards. The defensive line really dominated the game and probably was the most impressive group on the field for the Orange. The d-line held SMU to 70 yards on the ground and sacked Kevin Jennings 6 times. Jennings went into the Dome only being sacked 8 times before last week.
STS: Clemson and Syracuse have had some battles over the years, and Clemson fans always grimace when we see ‘Cuse on the schedule. How are Syracuse fans feeling going into this game? Has Clemson’s struggles taken some of the juice out of this matchup? What kind of crowd can we expect Saturday at Noon?
NM: After the last two weeks fans are feeling a lot better about heading into the rest of the season than a singular game. Clemson always brings out the best in the fan base because of the teams past, they always treats this as a matchup that is much more than the record that the two teams have. Tigers’ struggles have not taken the juice out of the matchup because the Orange’s struggles to start the year wouldn’t have taken much Juice out of the matchup.
In terms of the crowd, it’s been a talking point since Saturday in Central New York. Like I said there was a major part of the fanbase that was tuned out after the start, The North Carolina win was not enough to get a crowd over 25,000 in the Dome. The attendance listed was 33,396 for SMU, but that number could not be farther from the truth. It looked like less than 20,000, maybe close to 18,000 last week. I think the last two wins have sucked the fanbase back in, and we see a number closer to 25,000 to 28,000 this weekend. I’d be shocked if it reached any closer to 30,000.
STS: How must Syracuse finish the season for fans to view this year as a success?
NM: After the way this season started if they make a bowl it’s a success, In my personal opinion the ceiling for this team was 7-5, which they do have a shot of finishing at, Clemson,BC,NC state and Notre Dame, is the back stretch of the season, and if Cuse stays constant as they have the last few weeks and playing in a bowl game is likely.
STS: Who on offense should Clemson fans watch out for this weekend? What about on defense?
NM: For offense there’s two, Wide Receivers Umari Hatcher and Calvin Russell. Umari Hatcher is currently 4th in the country in receiving yards behind Jesse Lagree,Jeremiah Smith and Malachi Toney. Which is really good company to be in playing with four different quarterbacks this season. Calvin Russell is finally starting to come into his own after missing the start of the season with an achilles tear. Due to UNC and SMU taking away for the majority of the game in the last two weeks, Russell has picked up the production in the middle stretch of the games with Hatcher getting his targets and making plays in the big time moments during the last two weeks.
On defense, Keyshawn Johnson is someone to look out for over on the edge. Johnson had two sacks last week against SMU, Johnson has a quick get off and uses his height to his advantage. Even when Johnson didn’t sack Jennings, he provided pressure to force Jennings to hold on the ball longer and helped stifle SMU’s rushing attack.
STS: What must Syracuse do well to get a win this weekend? What is a weakness that could cause them issues against Clemson?
NM: If they limit the penalties then SU will be in good shape, Syracuse is the worst team in the country in terms of penalty yards per game, and last week SMU had more penalties, SU played a more cleaned up version of football, but it still could be better from the Orange.
STS: For Tiger fans making the trek up north this weekend, do you have any Friday night and Game Day recommendations?
NM: Looking at the weather ahead, the low this weekend is 51 degrees which for this time of year in Central New York, is very uncommon. If you’re looking to be outside, going to walk around Green Lakes State Park would be a great option. There are great restaurants Downtown if you’re looking to get something to eat as well.
STS: Where can the folks find your work?
NM: Nunes Magician.com is where you can find our team’s work. Our team does a great job of covering Syracuse Sports and giving our readers content that they can enjoy.
A big thank you to Tanner for stopping by and giving us the inside scoop on the Orange!
