With Doug Marrone leaving for the NFL, Syracuse enters the expanded ACC, primed for considerable change. Last season’s team went 8-5, placed in a four-way tie for the Big East championship and topped it off with an impressive bowl win against West Virginia. The Orange enter 2013 hoping for an encore.
Scott Schafer enters his first season as head coach and already has his hands full. Schafer welcomes back just 11 starters from last year’s team.
His first assignment will be finding a replacement quarterback, where the Orange must start anew now that senior Ryan Nassib has graduated.
Syracuse possesses one of the better backfields in the ACC. Jerome Smith and Prince-Tyson Gulley rushed for 1171 and 830 yards in 2012, respectively, and both return to pace the backfield in 2013. The Orange also hope that extremely talented Ashton Broyld, who oscillated between running back and tight end last season, finds his position.
Defensively, Syracuse possesses all-conference candidates but also some glaring holes. Junior linebacker Dyshawn Davis has star potential if he can build on last year’s 69 tackles. But with the two other starters at linebacker graduated and Markus Pierce-Brewster out following a suspension for violation of state rules, several untested players must step up and take their places.
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