Syracuse Football: 5 reasons the Orange will upset Notre Dame

2. Surprisingly complete Syracuse Squad

This may come as a surprise to many people but Syracuse actually has a complete unit on all sides of the ball. I’m not going to dive deep into their offense just yet but I will look into their defense and special teams units that are incredibly underrated.

Syracuse’s defense may not pass the eye test when you watch them play but check this out. The Orange have forced 25 turnovers this season which is the third-most forced turnovers nationally behind only Ohio and Utah State.

Their 14 interceptions is tied for seventh nationally and their 11 fumble recoveries is the fifth most nationally this season. The aggressive defensive front for Syracuse provides interesting blitz packages and they send quarterbacks to the ground often which is why their sack total of 33 is tied for the ninth-most nationally.

The average starting field position for the Orange is on their own 54-yard line which is the 13th-best average starting field position in college football and is the seventh best in the Power Five.

Do you think your team can score on a kickoff against Syracuse? Good luck. The Orange have dominated kicking coverage all season long by stopping most returners after 15.31 return yards on average which is the fourth-best nationally while also allowing not on kickoff return touchdown.

And while you’re thinking about all this, I haven’t even gotten to their offense.