The Washington Huskies face off against the Syracuse Saturday September 11 at 7pm at Husky Stadium. This matchup is sure to be one of the more interesting ones rounding out Week 2 of the season, and the college football odds show the Huskies -13 over the Orange. If you are going to wager on this game, then be sure to do it at BetUS where our readers can earn up to a $500 match bonus on their initial deposits.
The teams last met in 2007, with Washington getting the win 42-12.
Syracuse spent last season in a rebuilding mode and will look to have those changes pay off this season. Many of those changes were in the “intangibles” since Coach Marrone felt an attitude change was needed as the team had picked up many bad habits which undermined its performance.
Last season, the Orangemen went 4-8, including a 1-6 in conference record. This year a blend of veterans will be complimented by new recruits, and the offense will shift to old school formations and use a more pass oriented approach.
That approach worked well as the Orange’s sophomore QB Ryan Nassib added two touchdowns and 229 yards with a 17-for-27 passing effort against Akron, beating the Zips 29-3 and wining in its first home opener since 2003. Nassib appears to have stepped up from his backup role to lead the attack connecting with Aaron Weaver for a 23-yard score on the game’s first series and then finding Van Chew for a 26-yard touchdown five seconds before halftime for a 17-3 lead.
The rushing attack was led by 5th year senior RB Delone Carter who had 1-yard TD run in the fourth quarter and rushed for 91 yards against Akron. Carter rushed for over 1,000 yards with 11 touchdowns in 2009 and will continue to be one of the Orange’s main offensive weapons easing some of the pressure off Nassib.
The O-line still has some concerns with some of the line positions being held by inexperienced players. Justin Pugh was a redshirt last season, and will be given a starter role based on high hopes and ability. Michael Hay is a JUCO transfer. Both need to perform out of the gate for the offense to work. Senior Ryan Bartholomew provided some veteran leadership at center, after transitioning over from guard. He has great upper body strength and should fill the role perfectly this coming season.
Pressure will be the game plan for the defense and it appeared to do its job against Akron, as linebackers Derrell Smith and Doug Hogue led a solid pass rush.
This team is not a high scoring offense, and will rely on the defense to hold the score close.
Meanwhile, the Washington Huskies head into the 2010 with plenty of promise despite coming off a disappointing 23-17 loss to BYU, as Washington’s Jake Locker passed for 266 yards, but missed passes on two fourth-down conversion attempts in the final period that could have put the Huskies ahead after allowing the Cougars to take the lead late in the third.
The Huskies will try to put the loss behind them as they prepare to host the Orange, a team Locker has had success against, winning his first career start as a redshirt freshman in 2007 with a 42-12 win at Syracuse.
They have infused a lot of talent into the roster in a short time. Locker for one is bursting with talent, but no team can rely on one man, and the offensive line didn’t help him much.
Despite Lockers best scrambling the line still allowed a sack rate of 7.1 percent a season ago and one in their loss to the Cougars to start 2010..
The ground attack continues to be led by RB Chris Polk who became the first Husky freshman to surpass 1,000 yards rushing. Polk ran for 92 yards on 16 carries for the Huskies in Saturday’s loss, and should see more carries against the Orange.
The Huskies may have the best receiving group in the conference. Junior Jermaine Kearse, Devin Aguilar, and James Johnson combined for over 1,800 yards and 16 touchdowns last season, but Kearse had the lone touchdown reception in their season opener.
The Washington defense did its job for the most part against BYU, and I suspect an even better showing against Syracuse. Take the Huskies -14 as they crush the Orangemen.
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