The Syracuse Orange will go into their first season in the ACC with a new coach and plenty of challenges. The 2013 schedule features six home games, five road games and a neutral site game in the Meadowlands. Six of the twelve teams were in a bowl game last season. Their full schedule is listed below, but first lets preview the 2013 Syracuse Orange.
Goodbye Big East, hello Atlantic Coast. Syracuse jumps from one tough football conference to another without switching locations, due to the magic of realignment. Syracuse overcame a rotten 1-3 start to last season and ended the year on a four-game winning streak that included a stomping of West Virginia in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl.
Quarterback Ryan Nassib led the Orange's offensive charge, passing for 3,749 yards and 26 touchdowns. Before getting selected by the New York Giants in April's NFL Draft, Nassib ranked 18th nationally in total offense last season. Seniors Charley Loeb and John Kinder are competing for the opportunity to be Nassib's replacement. At the very least, they'll have an experienced offensive line to help buffer the transition. The Orange do have a solid running game and they will need it. Jerome Smith’s 1,171-yard effort helped the Orange achieve an eight-win season, and the pass-catching ability of Jarrod West helped matters as well.
Other issues, particularly on the defensive side of the ball, seem to be season-long concerns.Take the front four. Outside of Bromley, the Orange are short on experience, production and athleticism – and such assets will be needed against more talented opposition in the ACC. There are no issues at linebacker, of course, and the secondary really needs only a solid performance from Eskridge to do better than last season – because there are three returning senior starters, after all. Most of the issues lie where games are won: at quarterback, on the offensive line and on the defensive line.
This is definitely a season in transition for the Orange. What will save the season is how well Shafer guides things. The beauty is Shafer does not go in as an inexperienced football coach. His specialty is defense, but there are some time-tested assistants helping Shafer out and that should make some difference for Syracuse. The Orange will have problems becoming bowl eligible this year, especially in the tough ACC, But they should have enough to not finish last in the ACC Atlantic.
2013 Syracuse Shedule
August 31 (MetLife) vs Penn State
September 7 @ Northwestern
September 14 Wagner
September 21 Tulane
October 5 Clemson
October 12 @ N.C. State
October 19 @ Georgia Tech
November 2 Wake Forrest
November 9 @ Maryland
November 16 @Florida State
November 23 Pittsburgh
November 30 Boston College
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College Football Win Totals: Syracuse Orange
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