What exactly happened to Syracuse on Saturday remains confusing

You don’t need to be told that the Syracuse Orange looked out of sorts in Saturday’s loss to Maryland; no one does. The fact is irrefutable, but the “why” is what’s in question. We had some takeaways immediately after the game, though it doesn’t necessarily diagnose how we got to the point where SU was allowing 63 points and putting up little resistance against a team like Maryland.

The Daily Orange’s Andrew Graham dug into the mystery of how this happened — and how to stop it from occurring again — and sort of came up empty following Dino Babers’s own remarks after the game. The main takeaway was that Syracuse needs to focus on what it does best and regroup (another remark was around “rebooting” things). But that’s rather vague and doesn’t really get to the reasons behind how they were so caught off-guard defensively, and why the offense has yet to really ramp up to what it’s supposed to be capable of.

Without raising too many alarm bells, the fact that Dino’s noted that Syracuse saw things they’ve never seen before for two straight games is at least a little concerning/questionable. And given the fact that Clemson’s coaching staff is better than either Liberty’s or Maryland’s, the same could be true once again this weekend.

Is this a case of under-preparation (which we haven’t seen since the Middle Tennessee loss) or looking ahead? Is it just the personnel changes?

No one can answer those questions but the players and coaches. Hopefully they start finding those solutions in the near-term, as the narrative to this season starts to come into view.

That, plus the rest of your Syracuse-related links below:

Syracuse reverted to old ways. How to stop it from happening again isn’t clear. (Daily Orange)

“Now we have to decide what the 2019 team’s gonna be,” Babers said. “You don’t have the memories of the 2018 season anymore after something like this. So now, what kind of team is the 2019 football team gonna be?” In every phase of the game, Syracuse failed. For the second-straight week, the offense struggled from the outset and this time, it was too late once it got going.

Syracuse football rebooting itself before facing ‘one of the best teams of an era’ (Syracuse.com)

A very intense meeting where Dino Babers and his Syracuse football team reviewed, in painstaking detail, every play from one of the most lopsided losses of his tenure. It’s like rebooting a computer, Babers said. Syracuse woke up Sunday after getting knocked out, suckerpunched by an opponent it may have taken too lightly.

The 150 greatest teams in college football’s 150-year history (ESPN)

Led in the backfield by Davis, who would become the first African American to win the Heisman Trophy in 1961, the Orange defeated No. 7 Penn State and No. 17 UCLA, and No. 4 Texas 23-14 in the Cotton Bowl to win the school’s only national championship. Syracuse shut out five opponents and gave up only 59 points during the regular season.

Scouting Clemson’s next opponent: Syracuse (The State)

Syracuse has played Clemson as well as any team in the country the past two years, including Alabama. The Tigers suffered a 27-24 loss in their last trip to the Carrier Dome in 2017 and had to rally from behind for a 27-23 home win last year. The 2017 loss was Clemson’s most recenter loss in the regular season. Syracuse’s hurry-up offense has caused the Clemson defense some problems in the past...

Adam Weitsman is helping Eric Dungey’s dad battle cancer (Syracuse.com)

“(Eric) and I are really good friends, and he opened up to me about his dad having really bad cancer, and I wanted to really try to support the father,” Weitsman said. “There’s a lot of medical bills piling up.” Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim has agreed to stop by the suite to talk with fans, and Weitsman says it’s part of Boeheim’s appreciation for Dungey.

Jim Boeheim, Gerry McNamara will visit top 2020 target Andre Jackson on Monday (Syracuse.com)

What Amari Rodgers’s return means for Clemson’s offense, special teams (The State)

Exclusive to Syracuse: A Labatt Blue that’s also Orange (Syracuse.com)

Inside the recruiting process that brought Polina Shemanova to Syracuse (Daily Orange)

An ACC Podcast: TNIAAM’s John Cassillo joins Lauren Brownlow to talk SU’s struggles and other week 2 games in the ACC (SB Nation)