On Friday at 4:30 PM PT on ESPN, Stanford football will play their first game of ACC play on the road at Syracuse. Stanford comes in at 1-1 overall while Syracuse comes in at 2-0.
VIDEO: Stanford Football Weekly Press Conference | Syracuse
Last time out: Stanford defeated Cal Poly 41-7 at home on Saturday, September 7th before having a bye this past week.
RECAP: Stanford dominates Cal Poly
Justin Lamson homecoming: Stanford junior quarterback Justin Lamson played at Syracuse before coming to The Farm. Lamson shared his thoughts on the matchup and his return to his old stomping grounds during the weekly press conference that also featured head coach Troy Taylor and safety Mitch Leigber. He had a great time at Syracuse and still has strong relationships with some of the guys on the team. The biggest advice he’s given Stanford about playing at Syracuse is how loud it gets in the dome when the opposing team has the ball. That’s something Stanford has prepped for.
On Syracuse: The Orange are off to a strong start this season with a 38-22 win at home against Ohio before picking up a 31-28 home victory over #23 Georgia Tech on September 7th. They’ve taken care of business and done a nice job of defending their home field.
Senior quarterback Kyle McCord has a 170.5 passer rating through two games with eight touchdowns and one interception. He’s played really well and has benefited from having some solid receiving targets, most notably redshirt junior tight end Oronde Gadsden II (13 receptions, 201 yards, and three touchdowns) and redshirt junior wide receiver Trebor Pena (12 receptions, 166 yards, and four touchdowns).
Junior running back LeQuint Allen has rushed for 181 yards on 30 carries, yet to find the end zone this season. He’s running the ball well and I’m sure won’t stay out of the end zone for much longer.
On defense, senior defensive back Justin Barron has a team-high 15.0 total tackles along with senior defensive lineman Fadil Diggs, who has 6.0 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks so far on the season. Senior defensive back Alijah Clark has 14.0 total tackles while redshirt junior linebacker Derek McDonald has 13.0 total tackles. There’s some real talent on the Syracuse defense that will give Stanford a lot of challenges.
Keys to the game: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is keep up their stout defense against the run. That’s been a strength of the defense through two games this season. If they can get some stops on third down and get off to a strong start defensively, that should take some pressure off the offense in case they get off to a slow start.
The second key to the game I have for Stanford is to take care of the ball. In a loud environment like Syracuse, it can be easy for a team to get distracted and turn the ball over. If Stanford takes good care of the ball and doesn’t let the noise lead to any turnovers, they’ll have a chance to win this game.
Finally, Stanford needs to have some big gains. Elic Ayomanor having 30+ yard receptions, Sedrick Irvin Jr. ripping off a long run, etc. If Stanford can get big chunks of yards quickly, they could make this game interesting. If not, it’s going to be a long night. I should add, this doesn’t mean Stanford should just blindly take deep shots down field. That seemed to hurt them against TCU. But, they do need to find ways to rip off big chunks of yards and have their share of explosive plays.
Prediction: I gotta roll with Syracuse to win this game by a final score of 31-20. I think Stanford will play hard but given it’s their first ACC game and it’s in a hostile environment against a solid team, I have a hard time picking them to pull this one out. The Orange should win this one by double digits.
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