There was a lot of excitement around the Syracuse football program when the school hired Dino Babers. That excitement, however, hasn’t led to many wins. Babers went 10-3 in 2018, but his other five seasons were all below .500.
Oddsmakers aren’t expecting much to change for the Orange in 2022. BetMGM has Syracuse’s win total set at 4.5. If you look closely, however, there is enough talent on this Orange squad to reach a bowl game.
Syracuse finished 5-7 last year, but went through a stretch in October in which they lost three straight games by a field goal — to Florida State (33-30), Wake Forest (40-37 OT) and Clemson (17-14). In reality, the Orange were a couple of plays from being an eight-win team last season.
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No one is talking much about Syracuse in the ACC, but I think they could be the most improved team in the conference. Before you look up my Twitter handle so you can post an “LOL” on my timeline, here are some reasons why I’m betting Over 4.5 wins with the Orange:
Returning production
This can be an overrated metric sometimes. If a team is returning a ton of players, but they were awful last season, improvement isn’t guaranteed. I don’t believe that’s the case with Syracuse.
According to ESPN’s Bill Connelly, Syracuse is returning 80 percent of last season’s production, which ranks 15th in the country. As I mentioned above, Syracuse just missed out on a bowl game last season and is now one of the most experienced teams in college football.
Betting on Sports?
Is it crazy to think this team can match last year’s win total and cash the Over? I say it’s crazy to think they won’t.
Running wild
The most important person returning to the Syracuse campus this fall is star running back Sean Tucker. One of the top backs in the nation, Tucker rushed for 1,496 yards (6.1 yards per carry) and 14 touchdowns as a freshman. He and quarterback Garrett Shrader combined for 2,277 yards on the ground and Shrader didn’t even start the first three games.
This season, Tucker will be running behind an experienced offensive line that paved the way for Syracuse to rush for 213.5 yards per game last season, 16th-best in the country. If the offensive line improves in pass protection, it has a chance to be one of the top units in the ACC.
My projections have Syracuse as a top-20 rushing offense again in 2022. Last season, 19 of the top-20 rushing offenses won at least five games with Navy (4-8) the only exception.
Improved QB play
Coordinators don’t get a lot of attention from the national media, but the biggest additions to Syracuse in 2022 are new offensive coordinator Robert Anae and quarterback coach Jason Beck from Virginia. Last season, the duo helped the Cavaliers rank second in passing offense at 392.6 yards per game.
One of the biggest issues since Babers took over has been consistent quarterback play. Highly rated prospect Tommy DeVito never lived up to the hype and was replaced last season by Shrader, who passed for 1,445 yards and rushed for 781.
DeVito transferred and Shrader is expected to win the starting job. But for the first time in years, the Orange have depth at the position, with Florida transfer Carlos Del Rio-Wilson and Michigan transfer Dan Villari on the roster.
Anae and Beck take over a passing offense that ranked 122nd in the country. No one is expecting them to be miracle workers, but if the passing game can just be average this year, Syracuse’s offense will be tough to stop.
Verdict on ’Cuse
There are still a lot of question marks with this Syracuse team, but those are already baked into the low win total. Looking at the schedule, Connecticut and Wagner are two wins on paper. The key is the opener at home against Louisville.
If the Orange win that it should be smooth sailing to Over 4.5 wins.
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