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Syracuse Orange Football: 2015 Season Preview and Prediction

By Patrick Schmidt

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After a dismal 3-9 season in 2014, is there any hope for the Syracuse Orange to compete for a bowl game in 2015 or will it be more gloom and doom?

Syracuse regressed in the second year under head coach Scott Shafer to a disappointing 3-9 overall record and an ugly 1-7 mark in the ACC as the Orange ended their season in the basement of the Atlantic division.

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One year earlier, Syracuse was in a bowl game and there looked like some brighter days were ahead under Shaffer, but now Shaffer may be coaching for his job.

Offensive Outlook

Offensive coordinator Tim Lester has his work cut out for him with not much proven talent or experience on the roster. Fifth-year quarterback Terrel Hunt after an injury cut his season short to five games. But that’s not necessarily a great thing considering Hunt only threw one touchdown to four interceptions and his completion percentage dropped from 61.2 percent in 2014 to 57.2 percent in 2015.

Hunt has to be better to have any chance of getting out of the cellar in their division and salvage any chances of respectability this year. If he shows no signs of the broken leg that ended his season, he could offer some help in the rushing game after running for 292 yards and six touchdowns.

But if he can’t run the ball efficiently and effectively, the Orange could be in trouble after losing their top rushers from last year in Prince-Tyson Gulley and Adonis Ameen-Moore. That duo combined to rush for 951 yards and two touchdowns. Plus, Erv Phillips is moving to the H-back position so Devante McFarlane and George Morris II will carry the load in the backfield after rushing for 270 yards on 63 carries.

Syracuse lost leading receiver Jarrod West to graduation so Steve Ishmael has to take a big step forward after catching three of the Orange’s six touchdown passes last year. He added 27 catches for 415 yards but has to at least double that production in this new offense. Hybrid Ashton Broyld will be counted on being a play-maker as a receiver and runner and look for Alvin Cornelius to be one of the most improved players on offense.

After starting 10 offensive lineman last year, Syracuse just hopes they can stay healthy in the trenches to provide protection for Hunt and open up some lanes and holes for the backs to keep the chains moving.

Defensive Outlook

As atrocious as the offense was last year, the Orange defense held their own, especially when you consider the tough positions the offense put them in last year but they finished with the No. 6 total defense in the ACC and the No. 7 scoring defense. Had the offense not been one of the worst in the nation, Syracuse likely wins two-three extra games last year, even with Hunt out of the lineup.

The best part of this unit is defensive end Ron Thompson who is without question the most talented player on the unit and probably on the entire roster. He had 32 tackles, seven tackles for loss and three sacks a year ago, but look for those numbers to rise in 2015, especially that sack total if Syracuse can hold some leads in the fourth quarter.

After Thompson there isn’t much proven talent, just like the offense, where Wayne Williams is the second-leading tackler and he only had nine stops last year. That’s what happens when you lose seven of your top eight tacklers from a season ago.

The most intriguing returning player is middle linebacker Zaire Franklin who had 44 tackles as a freshman. He’ll be the leader and heart of the unit that sees Marqez Hodge at the Will and Paris Bennett in line to start at the strong-side linebacker after playing sparingly as a freshman.

The secondary will miss Durrell Eskridge a lot after he declared early for the NFL Draft after finishing third on the team in tackles, trailing Cameron Lynch and Dyshawn Davis. Also gone from the secondary are Darius Kelly and Ritchy Desir so Julian Whigham will be the most experienced member of this unit after he had a disappointing year. Trying to fill the void at safety are Chauncey Scissum and Rodney Williams but this has the makings of a unit that will struggle this year.

Prediction

It’s not going to be a great season for Syracuse considering one of their best players is punter Riley Dixon. He’s going to have a heavy workload as a senior because this offense has an experienced, but not that talented, quarterback leading a new offense missing their top two rushers and leading receiver from a year ago.

A lot of new players will be tasked with playing big roles in the new system and eight starters have to be replaced on defense. That’s not a recipe for success unless you’ve recruited top-five recruiting classes the previous three years, which Syracuse has not. They’re closer to finishing in last place in the ACC than competing for a bowl berth, which could raise the temperature on the seat of Shaffer.

Next: Odds On Next Coach Winning First National Championship

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