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Does Syracuse Have Questions on Defense?
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Sep 5, 2024
Syracuse may have won its opener over Ohio but questions remain about how the defense will play against better competition. The Fizz breaks it down.
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Orange Fizz Nation, Alex Burstein here with you. We're a few days removed from Syracuse football's
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38-22 win over the Ohio Bobcats. It was a game where Syracuse's offense looked really good
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but where the questions were and what we're going to talk about today is the defense and
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two main things that Syracuse needs to focus on heading into a matchup with number 23
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Georgia Tech at the Dome this Saturday. The first big question comes at linebackers. Syracuse
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senior captain Marlo Wax out now about six weeks according to Fran Brown with a lower body injury
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That's going to sting for Syracuse, not just losing a leader but a very skilled linebacker
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So who's going to step up? It seems like it's going to be two main players. First off
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a redshirt freshman, James Heard Jr., transfer from West Virginia. He's mainly played as an
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edge rusher, but we saw him get some of those linebacker snaps when Wax exited the game and
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even had an interception. So it'll be interesting to see what Heard Jr. can do in really his first
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big games as a college football player. He didn't play last season at West Virginia
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And then the other guy, some more experience in Anwar Sparrow. He's a redshirt junior familiar
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to Syracuse fans because he played every game last year and had over 20 tackles, but he hasn't
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really been in this starter role. He's been more of a backup, so if he gets thrusted into that
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number one spot, we'll see if he can handle the pressure of being a starter on the Syracuse
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football team. The other big question mark for Syracuse entering this weekend is the defensive
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line. Really struggled against the Ohio Bobcats. When you look at the line of scrimmage, it seemed
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like the Ohio O-line was controlling it almost every single time, and that led to 250 rushing
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yards for the Bobcats. That's not going to fly against a Georgia Tech team that has a big run
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first offense. You look at guys like Jamal Haynes, who's through two games is averaging almost 80
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rushing yards a game. Even their quarterback, Haynes King, he's a dual threat guy, has rushed
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for almost 80 yards through those first two contests. So this is a team that likes to run
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the ball, and Syracuse's defensive line is going to have to be a lot more aggressive, avoid missed
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tackles to keep Syracuse in the game this weekend. Orange Fizz will have coverage this week and all
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football season, so make sure to stay tuned online for more
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