3-takeaways
The Syracuse Orange lost 35 to 26 against the LSU Tigers, yet this does not seem like too much of a negative. Here are three takeaways from the game.
Front seven lived up to the hype
Through the first three games of the season, Zaire Franklin and the linebackers had looked very impressive against not too great run offenses. Yet, against a physical LSU offensive line, they continued to display their strength. While they slowed down a bit in the second half, they still slowed down Derrius Guice and the LSU run game.
They held LSU to 151 rushing yards, 4 per carry. While Darrel Williams found his groove in the third quarter, it was still a great to see the Orange defensive line and linebackers dominate the game.
If they can step up like they did tonight for the rest of the season, then perhaps the Orange will have a chance to pull off the upset against some high-class ACC teams. Hopefully, Perris Bennett and the front seven can continue to lead the way as they did today.
Rushing game was lifeless
Not really a surprise, but Syracuse had absolutely zero presence on the ground. With the exception as Eric Dungey’s 14-yard rushing touchdown, the Orange could not get anything going in this facet. They averaged 2.8 yards per carry with absolutely no signs of anything positive. The 76 yards on 27 carries is an absolutely atrocious mark, no matter the opponent.
I probably should not have expected more, but after the 300-yard team performance last week I assumed they would try to run Dontae Strickland or Moe Neal more than 12 combined times.
In the coming weeks, hopefully the run game can find a spark. Against solid defenses, it is just too difficult to score points when you have zero run game. If they can’t, then this is going to be a long rest of the season.
Sterling Hofhrichter was outstanding
Perhaps the greatest positive from the game was the sophomore punter: Sterling Hofrichter. His 46.7 average per punt practically kept the Orange in the game in the second half as LSU began to impose their will on the ground.
He had five punts inside the twenty, including a punt inside the five that set up the safety. In the game of football, punting is so important. It can shift field position, allow the defense to control pace, and put offenses in awkward/ fortunate positions.
For the coming weeks, if he continues this level of performance, Syracuse will be very pleased.