Dino Babers is very likely the best of the new coaching talent wave which flooded the ACC this past offseason, and has drawn rave reviews from every corner of college football for his personality, character, and fast-paced spread offense. Lost in the newfound buzz around the Syracuse program is the complete shift in defensive philosophy, which as always, I want to highlight before the contest.
Syracuse could not look any more different defensively now than they did a year ago. Known for aggressive cover 0 and cover 1 man blitzes under Scott Shafer, Syracuse now employs a defense on the opposite end of the spectrum with almost exclusively zone coverage, particularly the ultimate in bend-but-don’t-break philosophy: Cover 2 and Tampa 2 zone coverage.