Syracuse Pass defense

[Stealingshrimp]

Syracuse's pass def ranks 6th in the country.
We threw for around 180 against michigan -- and they are ranked about 40. And that's the best other opponent on our schedule. Everyone else besides tn and usc are below 90. Is this a cause for concern?

 

[timm3117]

September 17 No. 25 Virginia L 27-24 1-2 (0-1)
October 1 at No. 6 Florida State L 38-14 1-3 (0-1)
October 7 at Connecticut L 26-7 1-4 (0-2)
October 15 Rutgers L 31-9 1-5 (0-3)
October 22 at Pittsburgh L 34-17 1-6 (0-4)
October 29 Cincinnati L 22-16 1-7 (0-5)
November 12 South Florida L 27-0

they have lost there last 7 games, most of which were blowouts against the national powerhouses of UCONN, Rutgers and South Florida. So no there pass D doesn't scare me.

 

[BGIF]

Syracuse's pass def ranks 6th in the country.
We threw for around 180 against michigan -- and they are ranked about 40. And that's the best other opponent on our schedule. Everyone else besides tn and usc are below 90. Is this a cause for concern?

NO.

Syracuse stats are skewed because they're easy to run on, #97 Rush Defense, and have played against mostly mediocre to horrible passing attacks. FSU ranked #18 in Passing Offense is the only competent passing program they've faced. FSU averages 290 passing yds/game and put up 396 air yds against Syracuse. Rutgers at #59 was the next highest Passing Offense they faced. Others were PITT #74, UVA #77, Cincinnati #87, Buffalo #101, Connecticut #107, USF #112, and UWV #113. Note: Navy is #114

You noted ND's 180 yds against Michigan, Buffalo averages 160, Conn 145, WSF 129, and UWV 127.

By the way, you mentioned Michigan at #40, as ND's top passing defense opponent. Actually PITT is ranked #7, one slot below Syracuse while Navy is #29. Quinn was 22-31 for 284 yds for 4 TD against Navy.

PITT beat SYR 34-17 passing for 201 yds while running the ball 50 times! You remember PITT, they lost to ND 42-21. Quinn was 18-27 for 227 yds and ND ran for another 275 against PITT.

Keep in mind PITT's numbers include two high octane passing attacks in ND and Louisville, two teams Syracuse will face in the next two games.

The only thing that might hold down ND's passing attack is bad weather not the 'cuse D.

 

[domerfor life]

Syracuse's pass def ranks 6th in the country.
We threw for around 180 against michigan -- and they are ranked about 40. And that's the best other opponent on our schedule. Everyone else besides tn and usc are below 90. Is this a cause for concern?

ND rolls this team. Charlie Weis is just trying to keep this team focused. Syracuse has a poor rushing defense, which is what most teams have taken advantage of in past games. Plus just like everyone else has mentioned, they haven't played the best passing offenses in the nation.

 

[nayers]

I expect D-walk, and Travis T to have 100 yard games a piece...with Quinn going approximately 20 for 28... 300yrds short passing game due to weather

 

[jiggafini19]

Their defense looked good in the first quarter. It took Weis all of 15 minutes to figure out their gimmick.

I'll give them credit for not going toe to toe with ND's offense. That's just stupid. Lots of stunts, loops and changeups in the first quarter. But ND adjusted.

The best way to play an offense like ND or USC is to never show them the same things. Constantly change. Syracuse was able to confuse Notre Dame, if only for a short time. And their pressure in the first quarter was also good.

But Charlie isn't getting the big bucks for the next decade to sit back and go with the gameplan. He adjusted to what he saw and put points on the board in the second quarter.