Syracuse assistant coach John Anselmo from a video on the SU athletics website: "Yeah, I'm excited about Minnesota coming in here, Ithink they'll be in for a rude awakening. This is a different footballteam than last year, in my opinion."
Hmmm...So, a coach on a team that has just five wins against Division 1-A opponents over the last four years decides to make, at least for our standards, a rather bold statement. We haven't been immune to outlandish comments from college football coaches in these parts. In the past it's been Gophers head coach Tim Brewster, among others.
A refresher: In Brewster's first year, he reportedly told a group of fans the Gophers wouldbeat Wisconsin and he would be the first member of the team to sprintacross the field and retrieve the Paul Bunyan axe. When the Badgers won by a touchdown, coach Bret Bielema looked like Usain Bolt by swiftly moving in the direction of Brewster. Bielema then was Harry Houdini, executing a quick-escape handshake. He clearly felt that his program was disrespected in spite of his public words to the contrary.
I don't buy the thinking that the Gophers now have bulletin-board material. Sure, maybe they do for the days leading up to the game, but when the game kicks off on Sept. 5 at 11 a.m. CST, those words will be an afterthought. Also, I most definitely don't buy that the Gophers are "in for a rude awakening", but appreciate Anselmo's candidness. When so accustomed to hearing cliche after cliche from most coaches, honest feelings are welcomed.
The Orange have been arguably the worst BCS conference school over the last four years. They may eventually be good under new coach Doug Marrone, but it's doubtful that the resurrection will start against the Gophers. There's a reason why the Vegas line has gone up three points (a large jump) from 3.5 to 6.5 in favor of Brewster's bunch. All the early money was bet on MN. Vegas wants $$ put on Syracuse. Vegas is being used as a point of reference because they do a wonderful job of setting the lines. Thus, there's a reason why the Gophers are nearly a touchdown favorite.
ESPN.com's Big East blogger, Brian Bennett, rates Syracuse's O-line as the worst in the conference. They also, according to Bennett and others close to the team, don't possess strength at WR/TE outside of Mike Williams. Williams was a nice player two years ago, but sat out last season because of academic issues. To think in his first game in 20 months he'll be able to burn MN's secondary would be foolish. If you think a 20 month layoff is a long time, how about the case of starting QB Greg Paulus? He was all-world coming out of high school, but chose to play basketball at Duke. In other words, he hasn't played football in five years. Between a weak O-line and an inexperienced QB, the Gophers should be able to force turnovers.
The Gophers also should have a chance to air it out with Syracuse having a couple new starters in its defensive backfield. Eric Decker, Hayo Carpenter, Troy Stoudermire, and Brandon Green should be able to feast on that inexperience. The key will be the new O-line (four new starters) protecting QB Adam Weber, something we rarely saw last year. Am I contradicting myself suggesting the Orange's new DB starters are vulnerable, while MN's new O-line isn't? The new O-line is No. 1 on my curiosity list. RG Matt Carufel does have D-1 experience from his time at Notre Dame. LT Matt Stommes, while inexperienced, completely looks the part. He might be the strongest guy on the team. New O-line coach Tim Davis has coached up O-line winners previously at Wisconsin, Utah, and USC. His track record leads me to believe the O-line will be significantly better.
One possible advantage for Syracuse: Its defensive coordinator, Scott Shafer, was at Michigan last year. Shafer may recognize some of the Gophers' blocking schemes. However, the Gophers with Davis and new offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch in place now run a pro-style offense. Elements of the spread offense will still be detected, but for the most part their tendenciecs/schemes/formations/plays will be different.
Prediction:
An enthusiastic home crowd pumped up for one of their own, Marrone, coaching his first game, allows the Orange to keep it close...for a half. The Gophers, through the air, pull away in the second half and win by double digits. DTs Eric Small and Garrett Brown play well and LB Simoni Lawrence will contribute heavily against the pass, allowing the defense to feel very good about their performance. The best special teams weapon in the Big Ten, Stoudermire, contributes at least one special return.
GOPHERS WIN 27-13