Clemson Football: Syracuse Expert predicts an upset over Tigers

The Clemson Tigers will take on the Syracuse Orange Saturday. Here’s a look at what Inside the Loudhouse Expert Paul Esden Jr. thinks about the match up.

To get a match up from the opponent’s perspective on Clemson vs. Syracuse, we reached out to our friends over at Inside the Loudhouse for an in-depth look at the Orange heading into the vaunted ACC match up.

Here’s what Paul Esden Jr., site expert for Inside the Loudhouse, had to say about the game.

1. A tough loss for Syracuse this past weekend. Do you think the Orange were overlooking Maryland? Also, what’s the vibe in Syracuse after the loss?

I don’t want to make any excuses, it was probably a little overlooking Maryland, but you have to give the Terps a ton of credit. They were clearly ready to play this game and Syracuse wasn’t, plain and simple.

This was pathetic, embarrassing, and just downright unacceptable. Dino Babers gave his players a tongue lashing over the weekend and they reviewed every play from the Maryland game and fixed it. The vibe is certainly shocked after this one, but the team is using this as Dino called it ‘a slice of humble pie’, the Orange should be refocused and as ready as they can be for this Clemson game.

2. What were the major issues for Syracuse against the Terps? Are these things that can be fixed or do you think they may be consistent problems for the majority of the season?

Defense, defense, and some more defense. After giving up -4 yards rushing vs the Liberty Flames, Syracuse gave up over 350 yards and six touchdowns on nearly eight yards a clip.

The Orange were annihilated in their run defense and they had no clue how to adapt to the wildfire that ensued. I don’t think the Syracuse defense was as good as Week 1, but certainly, it isn’t as bad as Week 2, it’s truly somewhere in the middle.

This Syracuse defense is the strength of the team this year: elite secondary and a great pair of pass rushers in Kendall Coleman and Alton Robinson. Another concern was the youngster at QB Tommy DeVito making dumb throws. He just tried to force things when they weren’t there which resulted in turnovers. We’ll see if Tommy becomes a man in Week 3 or will he continue to make childish mistakes.

3. Syracuse played Clemson close last season and had a chance to win. The Orange beat Clemson two years ago. What does the Orange possess this time around the compete and potentially pull off the upset?

Before the season started there was a sense of confidence around this team that they could indeed beat the Tigers. Despite losing to Maryland, there is still a strong belief that Syracuse can make magic happen. Once is a fluke, twice is a trend.

Syracuse proved in Death Valley last year that this is a budding rivalry between Dino Babers and Dabo Swinney until proven otherwise. So what does Syracuse have? Dino Babers that’s who. He’s a preacher that can rally the troops and make players play better than they realized they’re capable of and cook up the best gameplan possible (look at the past two years).

4. Who are the key players we should be watching from the Syracuse perspective, on both sides of the ball?

Syracuse owns a talented stable of running backs led by Moe Neal and Oklahoma transfer Abdul Adams. There No. 1 receiving option is Trishton Jackson (Michigan State transfer) and he has impressed both in Fall camp and during games so far this season.

Tommy DeVito is the new gunslinger that Clemson fans may not be aware of. He’s not the dual-threat runner that Eric Dungey was, but he’s a far more accurate passer and has a much better arm. If he dials it in, he can kill you (watch the last five minutes of the North Carolina film from 2018 when he had to step in).

While defensively, Syracuse is more prepared than anyone in the country to face this Clemson team. They can defend a pro-style system and have the cover men and edge rushers to cause Trevor Lawrence and company issues.

5. Give me a prediction for the game. Do the Orange cover that massive 24-point spread? What’s the final score?

Call me crazy, but I’ll go back to the history books for this prediction. No, I’m not talking about either one of the past two Clemson matchups, I’m going back to 1984. Prior to SU beating Clemson two years ago, the upset Orange fans often referenced was taking out the No. 1 Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Carrier Dome in 1984.

In some of the early research this week I found an interesting nugget, prior to SU beating Nebraska, the week prior they lost to Rutgers 19-0. Prior to this Week 3 matchup vs Clemson, the Orange lost in horrible fashion to the Maryland Terrapins 63-20. I’ll say lightning strikes once again and Syracuse shocks the world winning 31-30.

Paul A. Esden Jr is the Site Expert for Inside the Loud House you can follow him on all social media @BoyGreen25. We’d like to thank Esden Jr. for his time and encourage to check out Inside the Loud House for great coverage on all things Syracuse.