Ahead of its next game on Saturday against Holy Cross, Syracuse has a golden opportunity to get back on track after suffering its first loss of the season to Stanford on Friday, 26-24.
The Orange are heavy favorites ahead of its matchup with the Crusaders, with ESPN giving Syracuse an implied probability of 95.8% to win the game. The last-second loss to the Cardinal will sting, but a Family Weekend blowout win over Holy Cross would soften the blow and help the Orange get back on track with the team’s playoff hopes.
Syracuse has a tough October schedule ahead of them after the Family Weekend contest, and it doesn’t play another home game until Nov. 2. For the Orange to avoid the upset, it’ll have to prevent turnovers on offense, limit Holy Cross on the ground and come up with stops on third-down.
Against Stanford, McCord again threw for over 300 passing yards, adding two touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown in the final three quarters. That type of production led Syracuse to its hot start, including a win over Georgia Tech in Week 2, ranked No. 23 at the time.
While McCord and the offense will look to produce at a similar level against Holy Cross, the Orange will have to turn the ball over less than it did against the Cardinal. McCord threw two interceptions and caused a fumble, and while both turnovers weren’t directly his fault, one of his errant throws resulted in a Stanford pick-six that gave them a 10-point lead late in the third quarter.
Syracuse’s offense can’t slack off as the heavy favorite against Holy Cross, but it’s lived up to the hype this season, and there’s more pressure on the defense to perform. The defensive line’s inability to stop the run has forced the Orange to win high-scoring shootouts against its opponents, which isn’t a sustainable way of winning.
Even though the numbers have come against weaker competition, Holy Cross has had no problem running the ball, with two running backs totaling over 150 yards and 4 touchdowns each. Syracuse’s defense has allowed its first three opponents to rack up over 100 rushing yards, so stopping the Crusaders’ run game would bode well for the team’s long-term success.
If there’s one area where Holy Cross has struggled that Syracuse needs to exploit, it has to be its success on third down. Syracuse’s opponent has only converted on 30% of its third-down attempts, so if the Orange can force the Crusaders into fourth-down situations, it’ll make life easier for McCord and the offense.
