The Syracuse football season is over but there is plenty to talk about. Looks like
the Orange will welcome Notre Dame to the Carrier Dome for the first time
since 2003. The big date with the Irish will land on October 29th and a win would be perhaps the biggest in years for the program.
It appears as though Louisville will be on the early season docket and will travel to CNY along with ACC rivals Florida State, North Carolina State, and Virginia. Syracuse will hit the road to face conference rivals Clemson, Wake Forest, Boston College, and Pittsburgh.
As for non-conference matchups, the date with Notre Dame tops them all but the Orange will travel to UConn before welcoming Big Ten foe, Purdue, and FCS Wagner to the Dome.
But the team everyone wants to see is Notre Dame coming off a top 10 season and a
Fiesta Bowl appearance on New Year’s Day against Oklahoma State at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
You can check out all the college football odds before the bowl games kick off this holiday season.
The Fiesta Bowl is shaping up to be one of the most evenly matched contests of the postseason.
The odds at all of the best online sportsbooks have installed the Irish as 2 to 2 ¬Ω point favorites. Notre Dame
has covered the spread in 9 of their 12 games this season. The Cowboys are just as good with a 9-3-1 ATS record. It will be interesting to see what happens as these two Top 10 defenses do battle.
Shrader Key to Successful 2022
The Orange benefitted from Garrett Shrader’s departure from Mississippi State. Shrader changes the equation when he is under center as he is a decent passer who moves seamlessly in the pocket and can get to the edge when necessary. Shrader ended last season with nine touchdowns, four interceptions, and 1445 passing yards.
But then add his 14 rushing touchdowns and 781 yards on the ground and you have a solid
dual-threat.
Shrader’s feet are more lethal to opposing defenses than his arm at this point of his career. He connected on only 52.6 percent of his passes and defenses saw more game film of the 6’5” Charlotte native. He may get the hands-on coaching he needs with a new quarterbacks coach after offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach, Sterlin Gilbert, got relieved of his duties by head coach, Dino Babers.
Tight ends coach Reno Ferri and defensive-line coach Vince Reynolds were also casualties of the coaching bloodletting. Attracting the right candidate to replace Gilbert will be a delicate operation. Because Babers’
situation is volatile, to say the least, anyone who would take the job would have to understand
that if the Orange don’t get to at least 6-6 next season then Babers and the entire coaching
staff is kaput.
One of the two Western Kentucky co-offensive coordinators might be a good place to start
when searching for Shrader’s new mentor. Zach Kittley and Bryan Ellis have had success running
the Hilltoppers offense and whomever of the two would be most receptive to the OC position
at Syracuse would be worth making a run at. Fresh new ideas as well as a different voice and
approach could do wonders for Shrader and the entire Orange offense. Western Kentucky just set an FBS record for passing yards and touchdowns in a single season by Bailey Zappe.
Syracuse recently signed two new recruits who could prove to be impactful in the years to come. Understanding that Sean Tucker has a lock on the running back position, a team can never be deep enough at any one position. And to that end, we see the Gatorade New Jersey Player of the Year, LeQuint Allen, will be making his way on the roster in 2022. Syracuse director of high school relations Deon Maddox was asked about the electric young
runner coming to town. “(New) Jersey’s in the house. LeQuint, we call him ‚ÄòQuint‚Äô Allen. I don‚Äôt know what this kid can‚Äôt do. He‚Äôs strong, he‚Äôs athletic, he‚Äôs fast. He plays running back. He plays wide receiver. He plays
outside backer. The kid is a total football player.”
Some interesting three-star recruits are coming to the Orange next season but whether
Babers will be there after next season to see them through their collegiate football careers is
another matter entirely. Winning solves everything and we will see if Babers has found the
solution.
