Today we continue our analysis of 2018 Clemson football opponents with a look at the Syracuse Orange.
The 2018 Clemson football season is less than three weeks away from kickoff.
The Tigers will open up the season with a home game against the Furman Paladins. After going on the road for a match up with the Texas A&M Aggies, Clemson will go home for a game with Georgia Southern before hitting the road to take on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and then coming back home for a match up with Syracuse to close out the month of September.
Today, we continue our coverage of Clemson football opponents with a look at the Syracuse Orange, led by coach Dino Babers.
Clemson Football Opponent Analysis:
Who: Syracuse Orange
Game Date: Saturday, Sept. 29
Conference: ACC
Head Coach: Dino Babers (6th season overall, 3rd at Syracuse)
2017 Record: 4-8.
Key Players: QB Eric Dungey, WR Devin Butler, RB Dontae Strickland, DT Chris Slayton, DE Kendall Coleman, DE Alton Robinson.
2018 Opponent Outlook:
This game is a revenge game for Clemson football.
The Tigers fell victim to a Friday the 13th loss up in the Carrier Dome last season. It was a game where everything seemed to go wrong for Clemson and Syracuse fought really hard. It was a great win for Dino Babers, who is trying to establish a consistent football program.
The Orange are led by quarterback Eric Dungey with a largely inexperienced wide receiver corp other than a couple of guys (Butler and Nykeim Johnson) and are led by Chris Slayton at nose tackle on the defensive side of the ball.
While Syracuse will be better than a 4-8 record this season, I don’t believe this will be much of a challenge for Clemson. With the game returning back to Death Valley and the Tigers seeking revenge, Clemson will give Syracuse its full attention.
It will be interesting to watch, but I believe Clemson will have this one in hand fairly early as they wrap up their September slate of games.