Return of the Nooner
The Syracuse Orange (2-1, 1-1) welcome a Northeast opponent to the JMA Wireless Dome tomorrow afternoon. The Holy Cross Crusader (1-3) will face Syracuse on Family Weekend. It’s a Noon kick on ACCNX and here’s what we predict will happen:
Kevin: Syracuse 59, Holy Cross 13
I think the Orange come out and play some inspired football after what has certainly been a challenging week of practice. The offensive line clears some running lanes for LeQuint Allen and Yasin Willis while the defense continues last week’s turnover trend. The second half is spent watching a lot of backups get time in front of the full house in the Dome. With a road trip to Vegas for a Friday night game, getting the starters out early should be a priority.
Mike: Syracuse 45, Holy Cross 10
The offense doesn’t waste any time with McCord dominating through the air before shifting to more of a ground game in the 2nd quarter and beyond. As Kevin said, getting the starters their reps then sticking them on the sidelines is crucial – ‘Cuse certainly doesn’t need any more injuries before a long road trip. I wonder how far down the depth chart Fran will end up reaching – do : Williams, Jamie Tremble, or any other rookies sneak in a few snaps?
Dom: Syracuse 42, Holy Cross 17
As Kevin and Mike said, the offense feels due for a bounce-back performance after last week’s slugfest against Stanford. The running game should be more effective this time around. Holy Cross will get a few scores in, but it will be tough to keep up with McCord and company lighting up the scoreboard. A sold-out crowd should keep the home environment strong during the competitive portion of this contest.
Max: Syracuse 41, Holy Cross 10
Fran Brown didn’t take last week’s loss lightly, and he’ll have his squad ready for battle on Saturday. The Orange offense will come out a well-oiled machine, putting up two passing and two rushing touchdowns in the first half. Like others have said, rest is important prior to the road trip, but so is a team’s rhythm going into it. I’d expect to see a few successful third-quarter drives from the first team before the backups take over.
Carson: Syracuse 48, Holy Cross 10
I don’t think this game will be close, and not like our staff predicted against Stanford. This game won’t be close. Syracuse is undefeated all-time against FCS teams (21-0). I’d like to see Fran Brown work on the ground game in this one and get LeQuint Allen and Yasin Willis a ton of touches. At this point, everyone knows Kyle McCord can throw the football – he’s not proving anything to anyone darting up Holy Cross. Let’s get a win on parents’ weekend.
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Now it’s your turn.