Throughout most of this season, most of the focus around Syracuse has been on offense. It makes sense why. With Kyle McCord leading the way at quarterback, LeQuint Allen back for another year at running back, Oronde Gadsden returning from injury and a plethora of other talented players on the ‘Cuse, the offense has more talent than it has in a long time. However, talent on the offensive side of the ball isn’t enough to win football games. That was the case in yesterday’s 37-31 loss to Boston College. The offense scored 30 points again. The Orange have scored at least 30 in six of their nine games this season. The issue yesterday though was that the defense just couldn’t do enough to hold on and give the team a chance to win.
The ‘Cuse have talent on defense just like it does on offense. Marlowe Wax, Justin Barron, Fadil Diggs are all talented players in the front seven. Duce Cheasnut, Devin Grant, and Alijah Clark should be enough in the secondary to keep the ‘Cuse afloat. But it wasn’t against Boston College. The Eagles were able to run all over the Orange with ease. BC finished the game with a whopping 313!!! yards on 51 attempts. That accounts for over 6 yards per carry, and yes in college football that number includes sacks.
This SU defense simply just doesn’t have the depth on defense to hold up when injuries start to pile up and it gets deeper into games. Most of Syracuse’s injury issues this season have come on the defensive side of the ball and that has started to make an impact on the game. Fran Brown did a good job of bringing in talented players this offseason, however, you must remember that it takes time to build a great team. The Orange still have a majority of their players from the Dino Babers era and that is evident out on the field.
