Syracuse Preview
Rich Linde, 14 July 2010

2009 overall record: 4-8
2009 conference record: 1-6, T-7th in Big East
Returning starters:
Offense: 4. Defense: 6. Punter/kicker: 2
Coach: Doug Marrone, 45, overall 4-8, 2009-present
2009 Total Offense: 94
2009 Total Defense: 37
Record against UW: 1-2
Key losses: QB Greg Paulus, DT Arthur Jones, OL Jim McKenzie,    TE Mike Owen
Returning studs: RB Delone Carter, C Ryan Bartholomew, DL Bud Tribbey, DL Chandler Jones, LB Derrell Smith, LB Doug Hogue and DB Shamarko Thomas.

Its game against Syracuse University, on September 11, marks Washington's first home game of the season following its trip to Provo, Utah and a game against BYU to open the season. The previous week, September 4, Syracuse is on the road against Akron.

In their last meeting, a game that took place in 2007 at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, NY, the Huskies beat the Orange, 42-17. Washington's Jake Locker, who is now a fifth-year senior, made his debut at quarterback against Syracuse, completing 14 of 19 passes for 142 yards. He ran 10 times for 84 yards and scored two touchdowns.

Since then both teams have hired new head coaches: Steve Sarkisian at Washington (5-7) and Doug Marrone (4-8) at Syracuse. Both coaches are in their second year of head coaching and in a rebuilding mode.

In the spring, Syracuse replaced its no-huddle and spread formations with multiple formations and two-back, two-tight end sets -- even some option -- this under the guidance of Marrone who took over the offense from former offensive coordinator Rob Spence. Look for more big plays this year, something missing from the Orange attack under Spence last season.

Based on NCAA statistics from 2009, the Huskies trump the Orange in 16 of the 24 entries shown below and, most importantly, in the four scoreboard stats; see category five (Table 2). Of the two teams, the Huskies had the better offense (62nd in the nation) and Syracuse had the better defense (37th in the nation).

But this is a different season and, on paper, mind you,  Syracuse has the appearance of being a dangerous foe. This game could make or break the season for either team, both of them hoping for a break-even year.

A 2009 offensive enigma: Although their renowned triplet excelled -- Locker leading the Pac-10 in total offense, RB Chis Polk rushing for over 1,000 yards, and WR Jermaine Kearse leading the conference in yards per catch -- the Huskies finished seventh in total offense.

Reference Bob Condotta's Seattle Times' blog for Washington's positional analysis by clicking here. See CollegeFootballNews.com for a complete description of the Orange's units, position by position. Condotta ranks Washington's running backs as its strongest position, and College Football News ranks Syracuse's linebackers as its strongest unit (see Table 1).

Table 1. Unit Ranking (See Condotta and CollegeFootallNews.com)

Rank	Huskies	Orange
1	Running Backs	Linebackers
2	Quarterback	Defensive Line
3	Receivers	Special Teams
4	Secondary	Secondary
5	Special Teams	Running Backs
6	Linebackers	Receivers
7	Offensive Line	Offensive Line
8	Defensive Line	Quarterback

Quarterbacks: The starting QB from last season, Greg Paulus, completed 67.7% of his passes and has departed. Ryan Nassib (So., 6-foot-3, 223) has the edge over Charlie Loeb (Redshirt Fr., 6-foot-4, 215). Last season, Nassib completed 36 of 68 passes, averaging 6.2 yards per passing attempt, while throwing 3 touchdowns against one pick.

According to one source, Nassib needs to improve on his accuracy, while Loeb needs to work on his release.

Give Washington the edge here. Locker, Polk, and Kearse are deemed the best offensive triplet in nation by rivals.com.

Running Back: In 2009, Delone Carter (Senior, 5-foot-10, 215) rushed for 1021 yards on 236 carries. At the end of spring, Carter was suspended after he was arrested for hitting a fellow student in the face after a snowball hit a car carrying Carter. Antwon Bailey (So., 5-foot-8, 193), who rushed for 312 yards and a touchdown in 2009, is listed at the top of the depth chart, although Carter is expected to be readmitted in the fall following his suspension for the spring and summer semesters.

With RB Chris Polk (1,113 yards in 2009) healthy again and a committee of studs backing him up, give UW the nod here.

Offensive line: Only two starters return, a pair of redshirt seniors: left guard Adam Rosner and center Ryan Bartholomew. But addition by subtraction could be a good thing for the Orange, who found Paulus running for his life at times last year. A former offensive linemen himself, look for Marrone to bring this unit up to speed for the Orange's first game against Akron.

Their four returning starters gives the Huskies the edge here, though UW's OL is lacking in overall quality. (The Huskies ranked 68th in rushing offense in 2009).

Receivers: Although missing a go-to guy, the Orange expects the committee of Marcus Sales (6-foot-0, 184), Alec Lemon (6-foot-1, 175) and Van Chew (6-foot-1, 161) to carry much of the load at wide receiver. Last year Sales caught 28 passes for 324 yards and 3 touchdowns; Lemon caught 29 passes for 295 yards and 1 touchdown; and Chew caught 6 passes for 66 yards.

Also, Hofstra transfer senior Aaron Weaver (6-foot-2, 220) had a strong spring. Starting nine games at Hofstra last season, Weaver led the team with 63 receptions for 797 yards and four touchdowns. In 2008, he led Hofstra in punt return and kickoff return average and all-purpose yards. Note that Hofstra has scrapped its football program.

Marrone's tenure (2006-2008) as an offensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints speaks volumes for his wide receivers, especially Weaver and Lemon, who are expected to play big and do some ball hawking.

Alex Cruz (Senior, 6-foot-4, 250), another Hofstra transfer, is expected to help out as a blocking tight end. Junior Thomas Trendowski (6-foot-2, 225) made some nifty catches during spring ball at tight end.

Give the Huskies the nod at receiver.

Defensive Philosophy: Ready for the battle in Seattle, defensive coordinator Scott Shafer will expect his defensive trio -- DL Chandler Jones, LB Derrell Smith, and DB Shamarko Thomas -- to put some heat on Washington's offensive triplet (Locker, Polk and Kearse), especially Locker.

Remember the first half of the ASU game last year when the Sun Devils' defense dominated the Huskies; that's the kind of defensive effort I'm expecting from Syracuse. It's not inconceivable that UW hits the canvas early in the game, needing to land a haymaker to pull victory out of the jaws of defeat in its later stages, particularly if Washington comes into the game fat and sassy from an upset victory over BYU.

After his hiring in 2009, Shafer was quoted as saying, "That's where I think an attacking defense doesn't mean you're blitzing seven guys every down. It means up front, you're going after them. You're trying to create a new line of scrimmage and force the ball. When they want to run a zone play, we want that ball to bounce sideways, make the ball go East and West if you will.

"Same thing with the quarterback. The quarterback is the marquee player in every program. We need to hit the hell out of that quarterback. We need to see what he's made of. We need to see what their No. 2 is made up. That's what I mean by attacking."

Defensive line:

Deon Goggins, a junior college transfer, a 21-year-old Los Angeles native who played at Cerritos Junior College last year, will compete for a spot at defensive tackle, or nose tackle, this season.

DT Bud Tribbey  (6-foot-1, 290) moves over to take Arthur Jones’ place at nose tackle from defensive tackle, where he had backed up Andrew Lewis, now a redshirt senior.

Starting eight games in 2009, DE Chandler Jones (6-foot-5, 251), brother of Arthur Jones, is credited with 52 tackles, 10 tackles for a loss and 1.5 sacks.

DE Mikhail Marinovich (6-foot-5, 245) started all 12 games in 2009 and had 20 tackles, 3.5 tackles for a loss, three sacks and five quarterback hurries.

DT Andrew Lewis (6-foot-2, 285) was a fulltime starter in 2009.

Jared Kimmel (6-foot-6, 250) is the third man in the rotation at defensive end.

This is a solid, veteran unit that will make the Orange difficult to handle on the edge. Nod: Syracuse.

Linebackers: LB Derrell Smith (6-foot-1, 232) is considered Syracuse's best defensive player. Last season, he posted 82 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, and four forced fumbles, playing in 10 games. Not far behind Smith is strong side linebacker Doug Hogue (6-foot-2, 226), who registered 72 tackles, 16 tackles for a loss and 9.5 sacks in 2009.

After Smith and Hogue -- the disruptive force of the defense -- the depth drops off sharply at linebacker, though there are some quality people in the offing, such as true freshman Marques Spruill and sophomore Dan Vaughan.

Give Syracuse a slight edge at linebacker, with the combo of Smith and Hogue trumping Husky linebackers Mason Foster and Cort Dennison. 

Secondary: The Orange officially have six returning starters in the secondary because of injuries last year, and several players gained valuable experience during 2009. These six returning players all started in at least three games last season.

There's a good mixture of veteran leadership with players, such as seniors FS Mike Holmes, Da'Mon Merkerson and SS Max Suter, as well as rising stars in the form of Shamarko Thomas and SS Phillip Thomas.

Call this a push between the two teams, both of them needing to improve on pass efficiency defense -- which is a function of yards per pass, completion percentage and touchdown to interception ratio.

Special Teams: Last season, Rob long averaged 43.6 net yards per punt, and Ryan Lichtenstein hit on 13 of 17 field goals and made all but one of his 28 extra-point attempts.

Washington's Will Mahan averaged 40.6 net yards per punt, and Erik Folk hit on 18 of 21 field goals and made all of his points after touchdowns (35).

Washington ranked 38th in kickoff coverage, while Syracuse ranked 94th.

Advantage Washington.