After the Syracuse Orange’s recent 35-point loss to Duke, the first number that left an imprint in many minds was the number three. That’s how much the program scored in the 38-3 home defeat.
Some stats that may have went by the wayside: the Blue Devils had over 500 total yards of offense, 235 of which came on the ground (over six yards per carry), despite having nine penalties for over 100 yards. Or Duke scoring at least seven in every quarter.
To be clear: there is “blame” to go on both sides of
the ball, but the Duke offense did show that despite the Orange defense partly lead the comeback in the UConn game or shut down Clemson in Death Valley, the unit certainly still has its limitations.
Through five games, the biggest of which is clearly the pass rush.
In the ACC, Syracuse currently sits in a three-way tie (with California and NC State) for second-worst in sacks. The defense has just six in five games. The breakdown is as follows: two against each of Duke and Colgate, one versus each of UConn and Clemson, and none versus Tennessee. As expected, the trenches are Syracuse’s kryptonite, and that includes both sides (Syracuse is also allowing the most sacks in the conference, giving up 14 in five games).
Outside the simple sack count, PFF is documenting a similar trend.
The Orange’s overall defense ranks just inside the top-90 at No. 86 (76.3). Of its five defensive grade categories, Syracuse’s two worst grades are run defense and pass rush. The former ranks outside the top-100 (at No. 110, 67.2), while the latter sits at No. 87 overall (67.7).
Out of Syracuse’s top-seven defensive linemen and EDGEs who have played at least 60 pass rush snaps (David Reese, Kevin Jobity Jr., Denis Jaquez Jr., Dion Wilson Jr., George Rooks, Rashard Perry and David Omopariola), Perry (74.3) and Wilson Jr. (71) grade in the green. Reese is at 66.9, while the rest of the group grades below a 62.
The pass rush grades when opponents are passing remain particularly low. Perry easily grades the best (83), but he’s played just the fifth-most snaps in those situations. Syracuse’s top-four by snaps played (Reese, Jobity Jr., Jaquez Jr. and Wilson Jr.) all grade between 69.7 and 59.1.
Similarly, run defense is a mixed bag.
Demetres Samuel Jr. grades the best (81.3) of any Syracuse player with 74 snaps or more. Duce Chestnut grades above 73 with the sixth-most snaps played. Of players with 40 or more snaps, Antoine Deslauriers (88.8) has been lights out and Omopariola also grades well (80.9). The big concern is the rest of the group that’s playing big snap totals. Outside Chestnut, the rest of the top-15 by snaps played rank below a 70.
To be fair, there are indeed some bright spots. The most notable shocker is PFF having the Orange ranked No. 11 (!) in tackling (84.4, second-best in ACC behind Clemson). Coverage has also been decent, sitting right at No. 50 overall according to PFF (82.3).
Samuel Jr. (fourth-best grade, most snaps played), Chris Peal (third-best grade, second-most snaps played), Devin Grant (second-best grade, 10th-most snaps played) and Deslauriers in particular have stood out. Chestnut and Cornell Perry have both been serviceable (both top-seven in snaps with grades in the high-60s). The weak link according to the numbers for non-EDGEs or linemen have been Braheem Long Jr. (fifth-most snaps played, grade of 58) and Davien Kerr (ninth-most snaps played, grade of 55.2).
So, what can be done from here after sorting through the numbers?
It’s clear pass rush and run defenses are the Orange’s clear shortcomings on defense. Would sending another defender to the box and trusting the coverage more necessarily be better? Tough to say. That would be a lot of added pressure for guys like Samuel Jr.
The playbook may have to be something similar to the Clemson game, where Syracuse didn’t turn the ball over and forced the Tigers to cough the ball up three times. That was the complete opposite of what happened in the Duke game, where ‘Cuse had three turnovers and Duke had none. Currently, Syracuse is middle of the pack in turnovers: a six-way tie for 9th in the conference in interceptions (three) and forced fumbles (two).
Regardless of what the fix is, the defense will be tested. Syracuse’s remaining schedule sees plenty of high-scoring offenses, at least on paper. Outside North Carolina (15th of 17th in the ACC), the rest of the ACC opponents rank top-half in the conference (and, all ahead of the Orange, who sit at 10th).
If the Orange plan to rebound, it’s going to have to be on both sides of the ball.
