Syracuse Football Defensive Preview

Cal will try to squeeze orange juice on Saturday

Syracuse overhauled their program after last year, bringing in former Georgia defensive backs coach Fran Brown to man the ship in northern New York. Through most of the season, the Orange curiously have been more of an offensive team under Brown, with a notable loss to Stanford of all teams in the Carrier Dome. What was a perceived strength for Syracuse has fallen by the way side, bringing the Orange into several shootouts this season. We may not know a lot about our foe from the historical perspective this week but we know the following.

Per Fran Brown this week, he doesn’t shower after losses. Cal has the chance to make this the stinkiest night time cross country flight ever. But how will they get the chance to break down this Syracuse defense?

2023 Defense in Review

• were led by DC Rocky Long under Dino Babers

• Syracuse retained its top three tacklers from last year

• Gave up 25.4 points per game

• surrendered 148 rushing yards and 233 passing yards per game

• yielded 5.3 yards per play on average last year

2024 Defense

• now led by DC Elijah Robinson and Robert Wright as Co-Defensive Coordinators

• will give you a TON of looks, 4 down linemen usually in a base scenario

  • change up defensive alignments along the defensive line a lot, are willing to change into a 3-3-5 at times depending on the matchup

• As mention earlier, the Orange returned their top three tacklers on the season, but are currently having execution struggles on top of health struggles

• Giving up 28.6 points per game

• Allowing 156 rushing yards per game given up and 199 passing yards per game through the air

• Generated only 13 total turnovers through nine games

Provisional Starters

OLB Fadil Diggs, DL Isaiah Hastings, DL Maraad Watson, DL Rashard Perry

ILB Justin Barron, ILB Derek McDonald, ILB Marlowe Wax (questionable with a shoulder injury)

CB Jayden Bellamy, S Alijah Clark, S Duce Chestnut, CB Clarence Lewis

• STAR Devin Grant in on selective packages

Players and Personnel to Watch

As it stands, one of the players to watch for Syracuse is someone who may not play at all on Saturday. Late in the fourth quarter against Boston College last week, ILB Marlowe Wax suffered an injury near his shoulder area. Wax carries the weight of someone like Cade Uluave for the Orange, racking up 4.5 TFL’s, 3.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles on the season. When Syracuse’s defense is flying, Marlowe Wax is usually front and center. Fran Brown didn’t mention a lot about his health status during his weekly press conference, so this will be an area to monitor come game day.

Outside of Wax, part of the front seven has the tools to create havoc on this patchwork Cal offensive line. ILB Justin Barron, who was converted from the secondary this year, is second the team in TFL’s and leads in total tackles. While Syracuse has been pushed around at times on the line of scrimmage, Barron has been part of the charge that limits opposing offenses. The other player to watch is Fadil Diggs, who can absolutely wreck a game if you let him roam free. Diggs leads the Orange in TFL’s and sacks, and is generally one of the more underrated pass rushers in the ACC. I’d compare him to Ryan McColluch of Cal, Diggs just has a nose for being in the area of effecting the quarterback. Coach Brown noted that he wants to mix up looks to get Diggs more space to work, so I would look at matchups against both young Cal tackles as a pressure point in this game.

contests vs NC State and Boston College so you all can get a cursory look at Syracuse’s defense

How Cal can win this game

The Orange have had a rough go along the defensive line this season, losing multiple players that have allowed opposing offenses to wear them down. The problem with that being the weakness?

Cal hasn’t exposed a rushing weakness all season. Boston College’s running backs ran for a whopping 331 (!!!!) rushing yards against Syracuse last week, pulverizing them at the point of attack. On the Cal side of things, we know about Jaydn Ott’s health, but furthermore there just hasn’t been anywhere for anyone to go, regardless of opponent or status. Cal is going to need to execute those outside runs that have assisted them at times this season and utilize the dumpoff game as an extension of the rushing attack. I’m just not sure that the Bears can win between the guards based on what we’ve seen this year, but I don’t expect Mike Bloesch to wholly abandon it. It’s quite possible that more Mendoza power zone reads are in order, but it’s hard to predict without the known status of Wax.

If Marlowe Wax doesn’t go on Saturday, Jack Endries against Justin Barron will be a matchup to watch. Barron would slot in as the most athletic linebacker that Syracuse has on the field, matching up with Cal’s ascending pass catcher. All that to say, Jack Endries could play the role of decoy if Barron has to shoulder that responsibility. That opens up rushing lanes, crossing routes for the likes of Mikey Matthews, and elevates Corey Dyches into matchup problems in two tight end sets.

Syracuse’s defense is a real mixed bag. Their secondary is more than capable of holding it’s own for long spurts of the game, so Fernando Mendoza will need to continue to play as smart as he has been. Much like Justin Wilcox with Kyle McCord, Fran Brown is going to try to confuse the young quarterback, and the onus transfers to Mendoza to eclipse the 200 (yes 200) yard mark that the Orange are currently giving up through the air.