Orange football looks to recapture its early season magic
Orange football looks to recapture its early season magic
The Orange will be coming into the JMA Wireless Dome on Saturday at 8 p.m. trying to recapture some of the magic seen in the first half of the season.
After an ugly loss at Pittsburgh in redshirt freshman quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson’s first career start, SU is looking to end their current three-game losing streak and close out the season similarly to how they started.
Speaking it into existence that Syracuse can (and will) be able to win at least two out of the following three games, against all ACC opponents, they’ll be in prime position to sneak back into the College Football Playoff rankings. The Orange could position themselves for a marquee bowl with a suitably entertaining bowl opponent in tow.
This No. 23 Florida State team looks to be the most talented team left on the schedule and depending on how you feel about Sam Pittman and Wake Forest after their loss last week to NC State, the biggest obstacle left between SU and an eight or nine-win season.
The SU athletic staff and coaches have been notably hush-hush about declaring a starter for this week’s game, with Del Rio-Wilson having led this team for the past six quarters after Garrett Shrader went down in the first half of the Notre Dame game.
Del Rio-Wilson struggled last week, completing only eight out of 23 passing attempts for 120 yards and a putrid QBR rating of 28.5. After struggling in his first start, Del Rio-Wilson is looking to make some adjustments in Syracuse’s last regular season game.
“I’d say just looking more calm,” Del Rio-Wilson said on Tuesday. “In the pocket I felt like I was too antsy and too ready to make a play. So, this whole week [at practice], I’m working on and focusing on letting everything come to me instead of going to get it.”
However, fans and analysts alike were excited about the flashes that Del Rio-Wilson showed in both the Pittsburgh game and the second half of the Notre Dame game. Del Rio-Wilson threw for 190 yards and recorded his first career TD to fellow transfer D’Marcus Adams, a receiver who Del-Rio Wilson has rapidly formed chemistry with.
Syracuse defensive coordinator Tony White and this Mob Defense will be hoping to rally the troops for one last raucous performance in the Dome, even with injuries starting to mount.
For senior linebacker Mikel Jones, a Miami native, there’s even more urgency and bragging rights on the line for this matchup.
“Tallahassee is just like Miami, so it’s like I’m playing the home team,” Jones said. “I know a lot of dudes on this team. I got recruited by this team and it’s exciting. It’s like playing against your home school that didn’t recruit you, so you want to prove something.”
Jordan Travis is FSU’s starting quarterback, and while he won’t “wow” anybody or be headlining any NFL draft classes, he’s one of the steadier QB options in the ACC. He’s wrapping up a second consecutive season with at least a 60% completion percentage.
Travis’ main target is Johnny Wilson, a 6’7 behemoth who leads the Seminoles in catches and receiving yards after transferring in from Arizona State. He will be the primary pass-catching threat SU will need to slow down.
But, with FSU having four players with over 200 rushing yards this season, including Travis, look for the run game to be the primary way for the Seminoles to get started early on offense, especially with SU’s struggles defending the run recently.
If you look at the defensive side of the ball for FSU, they have at least three players that will be playing on NFL Sundays — Jared Verse, Fabian Lovett and Jammie Robinson. Their aggressive, blitzing, man-to-man defense has kept this team in games all year.
Ultimately, this will be a highly competitive matchup with high-level talent all over the turf. With all the ups and downs of the season to this point, this game could be a significant determinant in how we view this SU football program not only this season but going forward.
is a sports reporter The NewsHouse from Memphis, Tenn. He played defensive tackle at Prairie View A&M University from 2018-2022, and is a broadcast and digital journalist graduate student at SU.
