SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Syracuse football coach Dino Babers feigned incredulity at the mere idea that his defense warranted any attention.
“You came up here to write about linebackers?” he said, slipping into a chair in the middle of an office he occupies based largely on his role as an offensive innovator.
Babers was joking, of course. He was quick to offer a reminder that during his college days, he played on defense, and he still loves it, even if that side of the ball takes a backseat to his tempo offense in virtually every conversation about the Orange.