Arguably the worst thing for a team after a big win is to face a sneaky underdog opponent the following week, especially when that team has another big opponent on the immediate horizon.
Does that mean that the best thing is to be a sneaky underdog opponent the following week?
We’re not sure, but that’s definitely the position Army finds itself in this week traveling to Syracuse. The Orange are a tough opponent, but the overall schedule itself has done the Black Knights about as many favors as we could possibly ask.
Syracuse Orange
The Orange are currently 3-0 following a very strong start. Army will be their final non-conference game before heading into their eight game ACC slate. Syracuse’s first two wins came against Colgate and Western Michigan and were predictable blowouts. They then beat the Purdue Boilermakers by 15 in a game where they’d been favored by just one point.
Offense
Army’s defense will have their hands full this week. The Orange rank 5th in the nation in both points/game and total offense. They run a well-balanced offense. The Orange run the ball 56% of the time but gain 57% of their yards through the air. They’re averaging nearly 7 yards/play. That is outstanding.
If there’s a weak spot for the ‘Cuse offense, it’s the red zone. They score just 80% of the time and just 71% of the points available inside the 20. They’ve also turned the ball over 4 times in 3 games, putting them in the top third of the FBS.
QB Garrett Shrader leads the Orange attack. He’s completed 62% of his passes this season for an average 9 yards/pass. He also leads the team in rushing with 36 carries for 266 yards. That’s a whopping 7.4 yards/carry! Shrader has 10 touchdowns this season — 5 passing, 5 rushing — so the Black Knights will need to find a way to contain him in order to stay competitive.
Beware the bootleg!
Besides Shrader himself, RB LeQuint Allen and WR Donovan Brown are the Orange’s two biggest threats. Allen is averaging 5 yards/carry while Brown already has 12 receptions for 206 yards. Worse, the Orange have five different players with at least 8 receptions. They’ve done a terrific job of spreading the ball around. Star TE Oronde Gadsden II was injured in the Western Michigan game and will be out for the remainder of the season, but even without him, this is a team with a lot of weapons.
Expect the Orange to move the ball. However, Army’s bend-don’t-break model could work against this team given that they had some issues in the red zone. In order for that to happen, however, the Black Knights have to do two things. First, they cannot get beat over the top. Second, they must contain the quarterback. They cannot let Shrader rush for 195 yards like he did against Purdue and expect to win.
Army visits the Dome for the first time in nearly three decades on Saturday.
— Syracuse Football (@CuseFootball) September 20, 2023
Here’s 5 things to know about the matchup before you come to the Loud House this week: https://t.co/7z56UC6itf
Defense
The Syracuse defense allows just 276 yards/game and 77 yards rushing. They’re led by LB Marlowe Wax, who already has 21 tackles on the year, including 2 sacks, plus 2 forced fumbles. The ‘Cuse also have two terrific safeties in Isaiah Johnson and Justin Barron. However, their defensive line hasn’t really been tested yet, not like they will on Saturday. The Orange’s top tackling lineman has just 7 tackles, and no lineman has more than 3 solo tackles. To put that in perspective, UTSA’s leading D-lineman had 6 tackles, 4 solo, just against Army.
The Orange do produce a lot of turnovers — 8 in 3 games. They’ve forced 7 fumbles, recovering 4, while picking up 4 interceptions as well, including *2* pick-sixes. What’s more, 4 of those turnovers — 3 fumbles and an interception — came against their best opponent, Purdue.
This goes without saying, but Army will have to be fundamentally sound this week on offense. The Black Knights cannot afford to put the ball on the turf, and throws that might have worked last week in San Antonio could be disastrous in northern New York.
Despite last weekend’s 37-point performance, Army’s offense remains a bit of a question mark. This Saturday marks another big test.
The best of both worlds. pic.twitter.com/bUkBnmMkYg
— Syracuse Football (@CuseFootball) September 19, 2023
Special Teams
K Dana Denaburg is perfect on PATs this year but just 3/4 on field goals. His lone miss came from 44 yards out. P Jack Stonehouse transferred in this year from Mizzou and averages 42 yards/punt.
Neither of those marks are bad, but Army should have a marginal advantage in both areas.
Takeaways
All the normal truisms are still true for the Army offense. If they execute like they did last week, they’ll give themselves a shot. The defense will have to limit the big plays. That doesn’t that they cannot afford to give up any chunk plays. But it does mean not letting a chunk play become a 6-point breakaway score. Additionally, they’ll have to keep Garrett Shrader in the pocket, or it’s going to be a long day. DC Nate Woody is big on keeping up the pressure. He’ll have to find a way to get to Shrader early if he wants a chance to knock him off his game.
Army played a Friday night game last week and should have an extra day to prepare for the Orange. Syracuse, on the other hand, drew the ‘Big Ten Saturday Night’ game on NBC against Purdue. And even though the Black Knights have to travel, it’s not too bad this week. They should be door to door in well under five hours.
Our Call of the Game, presented by @USAA, from last Friday night is Bryson Daily's TD connection with Noah Short! pic.twitter.com/fR2nSRzFPu
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) September 20, 2023
Follow the Game
The game kicks at noon ET on the ACC Network. Download the Varsity Network app to hear Rich DeMarco make the radio call if the announcers get to be too much.
As always, follow the usual suspects on the former bird app for pre-game updates and in-game analysis. These include: @asforfootball, @BrigadeReview, @DannoECabeza, and @RobRobi00389452.
Getting you set for Saturday in Central NY.
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) September 20, 2023
↓↓↓ pic.twitter.com/5TbClRLoSs
Go Army! Beat UTSA!!!
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