Syracuse Football: A 5 question sit down with the enemy

Chris Coleman: I would think the confidence level has to be extremely high right now.  Just look at the scores from Virginia Tech’s last three games: 49-0, 54-17, and 34-3.  That’s a total combined score of 137-20, including an 88-3 margin in ACC games.  There are very few teams in the country that have been playing at this high a level over the last few weeks.

I think a win like that helps validate to the team that all the work they’ve been putting in since December is starting to pay off.  Not only did the Hokies change head coaches, but they also changed strength and conditioning coaches.  Ben Hilgart replaced Mike Gentry, and Tech’s offseason workout program took a big step forward in terms of intensity.  That was tough for the players to go through, especially those who were used to the old staff, but now that they are seeing the results of their hard work I think their confidence in their coaches grows even more.

CC: I think Evans is a sharp guy.  He originally signed with Air Force out of high school, and you’ve got to be a smart guy to be invited to attend that school.  But more than that, I feel like Justin Fuente and offensive coordinator Brad Cornselsen know how to use their quarterbacks.

The best example I can think of isn’t Paxton Lynch at Memphis or Andy Dalton at TCU.  The best example is Jacob Karam at Memphis in 2012.  Karam wasn’t a particularly talented player, and the Tigers weren’t a very good team in Justin Fuente’s first year.  However, Fuente still got Karam to complete 64.2% of his passes while throwing just three interceptions.  He and Cornselsen have a natural gift of designing an offense that fit the strengths of their starting quarterback.

CC: He’s managed to stay a step ahead of everyone else from an X’s and O’s standpoint.  In the summer of 2004, he transitioned from an 8-man front style of defense to a more traditional 4-3-4 alignment.  This new alignment really helped the Hokies in pass coverage, as their defensive backs were starting to get beat deep in man-coverage in the old 8-man front scheme.

Since then, he’s successfully transitioned the Hokies to their current 4-2-5 look to combat the spread offenses that are prevalent throughout college football these days.  He’s also one of the best coaches in the country at making in-game adjustments.  If you manage to outcoach Bud Foster, then you need to ask for a raise, because it rarely happens.

Foster also understands coverages.  He does a great job of disguising coverages in the secondary, using robber coverages and inverted Cover-2 looks to confuse quarterbacks.  He likes to blitz, but he’ll also use his defensive ends and even his defensive tackles in pass coverage.

CC: This early in his Virginia Tech career, Justin Fuente is facing a new challenge each and every week.  Last week, it was facing a ranked team on the road for the first time.  This week, it’s the dreaded “trap” game between two ranked opponents, and the Hokies are the favorite this time around.

I think they should be able to handle the pressure rather well.  This team has a good core of senior leaders, especially  running back Sam Rogers and defensive end Ken Ekanem.  I don’t anticipate there being any issues, but you never know.

Before the East Carolina game, Justin Fuente told the team, “I’m getting a little tired of hearing about other programs…I’m ready to start hearing about our program.”  This has been the goal all along.  It’s no fun being the underdog all the time. If you’re the underdog all the time, it means you aren’t winning consistently. Fuente is a very low-key guy. He doesn’t show much emotion whether or not the team is winning.  I think that type of even keeled approach will help the Hokies stay focused on the field.

CC: If the Orange want to win, they are going to have to score a ton of points, and they are going to have to make Virginia Tech one-dimensional.  Both teams are known for offense this year, but the Hokies have the significant advantage of having a dominant defense.

Ultimately, the numbers point to the Hokies having a huge advantage in this game.

• Syracuse Scoring Offense: #91
  Syracuse Scoring Defense: #107
• Virginia Tech Scoring Offense: #25
  Virginia Tech Scoring Defense: #10

Virginia Tech has more talent than Syracuse, and if they play their A game, or even their B game, they will win.  I also think having a defensive coordinator like Bud Foster is a huge advantage for the Hokies.  Tech probably won’t dominate the Syracuse offense, but the Orange will find the going more difficult than they did against Notre Dame and UConn.  Foster’s defense is on another level.

I’ve got Tech winning this one somewhere around 41-20.  Despite the fact that the Carrier Dome has always been bad to the Hokies, Donovan McNabb, Marvin Harrison, Rob Konrad, Kevin Johnson, Keith Bullock and Will Harris are nowhere to be found these days.  With the recruiting calendar getting pushed up, it’s very difficult for Syracuse to get players to visit unofficially, and that has severely damaged their talent level.  The same thing has happened to Boston College.  Unless the NCAA starts letting recruits take official visits in the summer, which is when most of them are making their decisions these days, it’s going to be difficult for either Syracuse or BC to get back to their old level of football.