- April 16th, 2019, 4:11 pm
#576126
Hello, Liberty faithful! As you can probably tell from my screen name, I am a Syracuse fan from Central New York. I will be coming to Lynchburg for our season opener against you guys this coming year, and I just want to say from the outset that I absolutely cannot wait. I really love what your university represents, have tremendous respect for Jerry Falwell, and am looking very much forward to exploring the campus while I am in Lynchburg. Sitting here with my fingers crossed that you guys will bring in some awesome speaker for your convocation that weekend.....Very jealous at those of you who got to see Jordan Peterson a couple of weeks ago!
But, of course, the big reason for going is the football game, and that's what I wanted to talk about a bit with you folks. What is the general expectation of the Liberty fanbase as it relates to both this game and the 2019 season? Are you expecting a large crowd since it's an ACC team coming in? Correct me if I am wrong, but I think you folks have actually hosted some P5's already, so perhaps that factor isn't as large as it was for Western Michigan when we opened in Kalamazoo last year. Any commentary on your teams strengths and weaknesses is very much appreciated. Perhaps this is presumptuous, but I will try to preemptively answer some questions you may have as far as Syracuse is concerned.
We are coming off a 10-3 season last year, our first 10 win season and first ranking since 2001. Going into year four of Dino Babers program, there's a bit of variety of expectation, but at the end of the day the variety is within the realm of fairly high to very high expectations. Some fans look at our schedule and see 10-2/11-1 with an outside shot at getting to the college football playoff. Some think we take a step back into that 7-5/8-4 level (very few to none expect worse than that). Personally, I think a 9-3 regular season sounds correct, wouldn't be shocked at either 8-4 or 10-2. Anything beyond that, in my view, would either be especially exciting or disappointing.
We lose Eric Dungey, who some of you may recognize from having gotten a bit more press as the season went on last year. That being said, a lot of Syracuse fans actually believe our new quarterback is superior to Dungey. Tommy DeVito came into the Florida State and North Carolina games for us last year, and won both. He arguably saved us from an awful loss against North Carolina, in a game where Dungey struggled. DeVito has a cannon and can make any throw on the field, though is not as good a runner as Dungey was. We are very strong at receiver and running back, the big question on offense is the line. We lose 3 starters from last year, though there was a 6th offensive lineman (Sam Heckel) who started in 2017 and played so many snaps in 2018 that he can almost be considered a returning starter. The big question on offense will be plugging those two other holes on the line. If we do it, this offense can put up a ton of points. If not, there will be regression.
On defense, we lose a pair of all ACC guys in Ryan Guthrie at middle linebacker and Chris Slayton at defensive tackle. Though we return everyone else in the front 7 (assuming our starting middle linebacker makes it back from academic suspension), replacing those guys is going to determine how we hold up against the run. On the back end, the secondary has a lot of young talent and seems to get better every season. Special teams wise, we have an all ACC punter and a Lou Groza award winning kicker. Sean Riley also proved dangerous as a return man last year. Overall, most people think that whether or not Syracuse is better than last year will be dependent on whether or not Tommy DeVito is better than Eric Dungey. If he is, we should be. If not, we likely regress to some degree.
Alright, this is the sixth paragraph already, so I will end this rambling post here. Cannot wait to engage with you all going into August, can't wait to learn more about your team, and am really looking forward to the trip to Lynchburg!
But, of course, the big reason for going is the football game, and that's what I wanted to talk about a bit with you folks. What is the general expectation of the Liberty fanbase as it relates to both this game and the 2019 season? Are you expecting a large crowd since it's an ACC team coming in? Correct me if I am wrong, but I think you folks have actually hosted some P5's already, so perhaps that factor isn't as large as it was for Western Michigan when we opened in Kalamazoo last year. Any commentary on your teams strengths and weaknesses is very much appreciated. Perhaps this is presumptuous, but I will try to preemptively answer some questions you may have as far as Syracuse is concerned.
We are coming off a 10-3 season last year, our first 10 win season and first ranking since 2001. Going into year four of Dino Babers program, there's a bit of variety of expectation, but at the end of the day the variety is within the realm of fairly high to very high expectations. Some fans look at our schedule and see 10-2/11-1 with an outside shot at getting to the college football playoff. Some think we take a step back into that 7-5/8-4 level (very few to none expect worse than that). Personally, I think a 9-3 regular season sounds correct, wouldn't be shocked at either 8-4 or 10-2. Anything beyond that, in my view, would either be especially exciting or disappointing.
We lose Eric Dungey, who some of you may recognize from having gotten a bit more press as the season went on last year. That being said, a lot of Syracuse fans actually believe our new quarterback is superior to Dungey. Tommy DeVito came into the Florida State and North Carolina games for us last year, and won both. He arguably saved us from an awful loss against North Carolina, in a game where Dungey struggled. DeVito has a cannon and can make any throw on the field, though is not as good a runner as Dungey was. We are very strong at receiver and running back, the big question on offense is the line. We lose 3 starters from last year, though there was a 6th offensive lineman (Sam Heckel) who started in 2017 and played so many snaps in 2018 that he can almost be considered a returning starter. The big question on offense will be plugging those two other holes on the line. If we do it, this offense can put up a ton of points. If not, there will be regression.
On defense, we lose a pair of all ACC guys in Ryan Guthrie at middle linebacker and Chris Slayton at defensive tackle. Though we return everyone else in the front 7 (assuming our starting middle linebacker makes it back from academic suspension), replacing those guys is going to determine how we hold up against the run. On the back end, the secondary has a lot of young talent and seems to get better every season. Special teams wise, we have an all ACC punter and a Lou Groza award winning kicker. Sean Riley also proved dangerous as a return man last year. Overall, most people think that whether or not Syracuse is better than last year will be dependent on whether or not Tommy DeVito is better than Eric Dungey. If he is, we should be. If not, we likely regress to some degree.
Alright, this is the sixth paragraph already, so I will end this rambling post here. Cannot wait to engage with you all going into August, can't wait to learn more about your team, and am really looking forward to the trip to Lynchburg!
That can't be true, can it?
--Fumble (1961-2009), RIP
- By Ill flame
- By stokesjokes