NFL
By: Rick O’Donnell
The Syracuse Orange take on the (6) Miami Hurricanes in their regular-season finale at the JMA Wireless Dome on Saturday. Syracuse will have their hands full with the 10-1 Hurricanes. This will arguably be the Orange’s toughest challenge of the season, so what do they need to do to walk away with that win?
Limit Explosive Plays
The Hurricanes have QB Cam Ward on Heisman watch and will face an uphill battle against an explosive offense. Miami’s offense has a balanced attack and can put up points in bunches. Luckily for Syracuse, Cam Ward isn’t typically a dual-threat QB, as they’ve struggled in that aspect throughout the season. Ward only has 177 yards on the ground this season, and while that might not be their toughest rushing QB, the Orange still need to be ready for it. Damien Martinez is their top back at 739 yards and 8 TDs, but Mark Fletcher is also a threat with 499 yards and 6 TDs. The Hurricanes can attack in the run game with a team total of 25 rushing touchdowns.
Miami shines in the passing game. The Hurricanes boast the third-best passing attack in college football, putting up 3,962 yards with 36 touchdowns. Syracuse has the edge with the second-best passing attack but only 26 touchdowns to show for it. Ward has more touchdowns on fewer attempts than McCord, and Syracuse will have to keep receivers in front of them in the passing game.
If the Orange drop too many back to limit big gains through the air, it will expose their run defense. Miami is a powerful team on offense, so Syracuse has to rush the ball carrier. Every player on defense needs to swarm whoever has the football and limit the extra yards.
Attack The Run
On offense, Syracuse leans heavier toward the passing game. However, when you have an opponent who can push the ball downfield with ease, you need to be able to play keep-away as well. Even though Syracuse has the second-best passing attack in college football, Miami isn’t too far behind in third. It will be hard for the Orange not to try to blow the lid off the Dome and make a statement, but with mental mistakes being their challenge all season long and Miami’s ability to attack, it would be wise to limit mistakes when they can and win T.O.P. (time of possession).
Dominate Point-of-Attack
They say “defense wins championships,” and Syracuse will need their defense to step up big. If ever there was a time to have your best game defensively, it would be against this Hurricanes offense. For comparison, Syracuse has let up 22 sacks of Kyle McCord through 522 passing attempts (-185 yards) versus the Hurricanes’ 21 sacks on Wards’ 399 attempts (-134 yards). McCord sack ration 1:23 attempts, whereas Ward is closer to 1:19. If Syracuse can muster up the pressure against Cam Ward and get this offense out of rhythm, then it will go a long way towards victory. The Orange need to win their battles up front and have consistent pressure in the backfield.
Step Up Into Pressure
The Syracuse offensive line has been hit and miss this season and, at times, their least consistent group. Nothing derails an offense like letting up a huge sack for loss. However, sacks are part of the game, and if they’re going to happen, McCord needs to step up into the pocket and eliminate the yards-for-loss. Going back to the sack totals, even though Ward has a higher sack ratio, the losses in the passing game are more limited than Syracuse. McCord averages -8 yards per sack to Ward’s -6 yards.
A two-yard difference might not seem that bad, but in a game of inches against a good team, every yard counts, especially in the “and long” situations. The more McCord can limit the extra losses, the better chance they have at moving the chains. If he’s going to take a sack with nowhere to go with the football, try to get back to the line of scrimmage. Fight for every yard, even behind the line.
Syracuse will either finish the season 8-4 or 9-3, depending on this game. This has been one of their better seasons, and their biggest challenge has come at the end. No matter how this one turns up, so long as the Orange have a strong showing, they should be proud of Fran Brown’s rookie season as a Head Coach for the Syracuse Orange. Miami is a beatable team, but it won’t be easy, and it won’t be with sloppy football. Syracuse has to bring their best on Saturday.
Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 PM EST, and the game will be on ESPN.
