Know the Enemy 2024: Syracuse Orange Football

A friend answers our questions

credit: calbears.com

We asked our friend to answer some questions about Syracuse football, and Michael (Nunes Magician) graciously answered the call to be our go-to expert for the upcoming matchup.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Some answers were edited slightly for clarity. Any additional input provided will be clearly denoted with “WFC:” at the start.

What type of Orange is Otto? And how has this season gone for Syracuse from the fan perspective? Has McCord panned out like you thought?

Otto is simply the Orange. He is an absolute constant for Syracuse through good times and bad, and a true ambassador for the beauty of college sports as a whole. Beyond that, we cannot say.

As for the season, SU is already bowl-eligible with a very real chance of 7 or 8 wins. There are the handful of delusional people who think in extremes of "this team should be 4-5 / 9-0" but for the most part, fan engagement, ESPECIALLY from the alumni base, is at a high level that hasn't been seen in a very long time. 

Most will say McCord is the best quarterback SU has had since Ryan Nassib - I'll do you one better and argue he's the best since Donovan McNabb. Kyle is on pace to set the program record for passing yards in a single season and take away one nightmare game and he's got a 23/7 TD/INT ratio. This time last year, SU didn't even have a healthy QB and was running their TE out of the wildcat. There could not be a more extreme difference between the two offenses.

Kyle McCord passes the eye test for being a very accurate QB. But his stats and INT record suggest that he has his problem moments. What would make most of those problems go away if you could magically fix something?

Building a consistently good o-line may as well be a magical task. That's not a Syracuse-exclusive problem, it's just the reality that many college football programs face. Skilled blockers are such a rare commodity and while Coach Fran did what he could to patch it up via the portal, there has still been some serious shuffling of deck chairs to try and keep the golden goose healthy. When Kyle does get the chance to stand in the pocket and go through his progressions, he rarely messes up. 

How afraid is Syracuse of putting Kyle McCord up against the Nohl fly zone, Bash brothers, and the Cal defense?

Honestly, they don't have a choice. SU's offense lives and dies through the air - which is why they have three of the top-10 leading receivers in the ACC (Jackson Meeks, Trebor Pena, and Oronde Gadsden). That's also not getting into emerging pieces like Justus Ross-Simmons and four-star freshman Zeed Haynes, who were both sidelined for half the year. McCord is going to throw the ball at least 40 times, probably to six or more targets.

Fran Brown was a somewhat unconventional hire, and he's spent his first season alternating really nice wins with some head-scratching losses. How do you assess his first year so far?

What you call "unconventional", I call "inspiring". Not just because of his D.A.R.T. (Detailed - Accountable - Relentless - Tough) mantra, but because SU actually took a gambit on an unproven first-time HC instead of a retread. Dan Mullen was never gonna happen, leaving Holy Cross's Bob Chesney and Toledo's Jason Candle as the only other real candidates. With either of them, there wasn't a real hope that recruiting would improve and SU could evolve into more than a program always clawing for six wins.

Fran has completely reinvigorated interest in the program and, most importantly, taken care of the talent in his backyard. There aren't a ton of blue-chip prospects in the northeast, but he's been on the radar of nearly everyone since taking charge. If one of those other guys got hired instead, you'd still see mainly MAC-level guys, projects, and maybe a few veteran/JUCO transfers cobbled together like most classes under Dino Babers. Fran has also gotten many of the boosters to contribute in ways that just haven't been possible before. And when I tell you he's been bringing busloads of potential recruits to practices ever since the spring, I mean it. I'm excited to see what he can do long-term.

The on-field results are, for the most part, impressive. Yeah, Pitt was a torturous affair to watch, but it happened once as opposed to the pair of five-game losing streaks SU suffered the past two seasons - both of which had some much worse blowouts. 

Fran Brown was brought in with the secondary as his strength. Throughout this season, it seems that the secondary has struggled at times. What do you attribute that to?

There are a few factors here. SU transitioned from a 3-3-5 defense to new DC Elijah Robinson's 4-2-5 scheme, then somewhat abruptly had to go back to the former due to injuries on the d-line. There have been several position changes, some before the season and others on the fly, to accommodate this.

The stats may say that the secondary is not doing well, but I put much more of the blame on the inability to pressure opposing QBs. Fadil Diggs has really been the only threat for most of the year, and teams quickly schemed away from him. Fran is also the only head coach I've seen that actually does drills with a specific position group - that being the DBs - so that counts for something in my book.

Which player on offense should Cal fans know about?

I'm going to assume that you've heard of Kyle McCord before, so instead shift your focus to Georgia transfer Jackson Meeks, SU's leading receiver and resident deep ball threat. He's got 55 catches for 653 yards and four touchdowns so far and is coming off his third 100+ yard game of the season. More of the passing volume will be going underneath but if Meeks gets left in man coverage on the outside, expect 'Cuse to take advantage.

What are the things holding back Syracuse's running game?

SU primarily runs an RPO offense, giving McCord a lot of quick reads in the slot. The downside of that is the already-suspect o-line having to quickly discern where to direct their blocks. They've been... less than great at that.

LeQuint Allen is not the problem - he may not be the bell-cow back that Sean Tucker was a few years ago, but he's still coming off a thousand-yard season. Watch the last play at UNLV and you'll see how tough he can be to bring down.

Which player on defense should Cal fans know about?

Fadil Diggs was another crucial off-season addition. The former Aggie has a PFF pass-rush grade of nearly 80 and leads the team in QB pressures and sacks. He's done so while playing a combo EDGE/LB role, with about 300 snaps on the line and 180 in the box. A truly essential part of the SU defense, especially while Marlowe Wax was sidelined.

How much does the possible absence of Marlowe Wax affect what Syracuse wants to do on defense?

Wax is back and has played the past two games, albeit not at full strength. His return is great news for the pass rush but doesn't really solve the problems they've had in coverage. SU has left former safety Justin Barron with him over the middle, putting more pressure on a very streaky Alijah Clark and STAR Devin Grant to patrol the skies. Translation: way too much soft zone.

Who’s one under-the-radar or X-factor player who could swing this game for you?

The Orange are on their third field goal kicker of the season, a grad transfer from Cornell named Jackson Kennedy. He successfully nailed a 44-yarder last week, which may not seem like much, but the other two guys were a combined 0/5 from 40+. SU just didn't have the confidence to take the points for most of the season and now they may finally be able to do so when appropriate.

What does Syracuse need to do to win the game?

I said in my preseason preview that SU could struggle to defend against the run and if last week's contest at BC was any indication, they'll have another major mismatch ahead. It helps that Jadyn Ott hasn't been himself this year, but I'd still advise stacking the box and forcing Fernando Mendoza to throw the ball 50 times again. On the other side, McCord just has to avoid unnecessary risks and not be afraid to throw the ball away when no one's home. Two of SU's three losses occurred when he had multiple turnovers.

What does Cal need to do to win the game?

Find the right balance between bringing the heat and dropping eight in coverage. Pitt actually had the least percentage of blitzes versus SU this year, but they disguised their rushes well, which resulted in five interceptions. Offensively, establish the run and force the SU secondary to loosen up—they've struggled with rotations, so just be patient until there's a shot to take.

How do you see the game going?

Just like almost every SU game this year: a back-and-forth brawl where one side of the ball starts slower than the other, but gradually catches up to lend some support. Lately, it's been more of the Orange offense starting slow than the defense, but I'm optimistic they can get it together this time. Still, I'm leaning toward a narrow Cal win. The spread is hovering around -8.5 and I'd take the under.

We don't condone violence at W4C, but we like this question as an opportunity for folks to air it out. Whom do you most want to punch in the face?

For my Bay Area friends, I'd gladly take a swing at John Fisher. This isn't the 1950s, when the U.S. population was migrating west—there is ZERO reason a billionaire would ever need to relocate from a market that had supported them feverously for over 50 years. I hope their stay in Sacramento is an unmitigated disaster and that Vegas is smart enough not to give him an absurd amount of public funds to move there.