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Week 9: Syracuse Orange (3-4) vs #7 Cincinnati Bearcats (7-0)
Read along with LvilleOrange and Reyes39 as we look into this weeks Halloween match up against the #7 Cincinnati Bearcats
When: Saturday October 31st, 2009 – 12:00 PM Eastern
Where: Syracuse, New York in the Carrier Dome
Capacity: 49,262
Television: ESPNU
Cincinnati Reading Material (via pacusefan): Cincinnati Reading Material
The Spread: Cincinnatti -14.5 – Over/Under is 51.0
Rivalry info: This will be the tenth meeting between these schools. Cincinnati owns a 5-4 advantage in the series and has won the last four against the Orange. Syracuse is 677-476-49 all time. Cincinnati is 484-470-37 all time.
Coaches: Cincinnati – Brian Kelly – 4th season at Cincinnati (29-6 overall.) Syracuse- Doug Marrone – 1st season at Syracuse (3-4 overall.)
Syracuse Offense vs Cincinnati Defense: Pop the champagne! Seven games into the season and the Orange were finally able to produce a 100 yard rusher. With four new starters in Rosner, White, Tiller and Bartholomew (joined by Meldrum) Delone Carter went off on Akron for 170 yards on the ground. Akron wasn’t exactly a stellar opponent (ranked 88 against the run) but according to Marrone the line seemed to have much more chemistry. Either way – it had come to a point where it couldn’t get worse. The revamped OLine will face a tough test this weekend against a 
Bearcat Defense that ranks 1st in sacks, 1st in tackles for loss, and 11th nationally in scoring defense yielding just under 14.00 per contest.
With Mike Williams suspended – the Orange were lucky to have such a good outing on the ground. Paulus played mistake free in a conservative passing attack and Sales did what he could to make up for Williams’ absence. In order for the Orange to compete with the Bearcats, Mike is going to have to be on the field Saturday. It is expected he will – but that still won’t be enough. Against two of the Orange’s toughest defenses faced – Paulus has had his worst games. If Paulus still has not learned to simply take what is available and not force things – this game will be over in the first half.
I expect to see Spence and Marrone get a little more creative this week. Cincinnati isn’t the type of team you can play field position battles with – points (and quite a bit of them) are a necessity. Expect to see a little more Stallion, a reverse or two, Nassib filling in to go deep occasionally, and perhaps a few fourth down conversion attempts.
Cincinnati Offense vs Syracuse Defense: How you do want to die? It’s never any fun to pick your poison. Can you imagine what might be going through Head Coach Brian Kelly’s mind as he contemplates this week’s gameplan. It must be alot like the Iron Chef when he’s given a potato as his key ingredient. Should he puree the Orange into a cream of potato soup by sending WR Mardy Gilyard on forays into our anemic secondary? How about slicing the defense apart julienne style with running back Isaiah Pead. The Bearcats can light you up on the ground with Zach Collaros running or carve you up via the air too. Zach was tidy 15-17 for 253 yards and 3 scores versus the Louisville Cardinals last week. The strength of the defending BE champs is that they can plug and play anyone and use a variety of formations, empty backfield, two tight ends, whatever the situation calls for. If there is a negative to the Bearcat attack it is that it’s too potent at times. This season teams are averaging about 5 minutes more in time of possession than Cincinnati.
The Orange defense will be tested by Cincinnati. The health of LB Derrell Smith will determine if the Orange D will have a say in this game. The Cuse totally shut down Akron on the ground, moving the defense a tie for 6th nationally at 83 yards a game. I suspect the Bearcats will respect the Orange’s stout rush defense and attack the secondary. Coach Shafer will need to force Cincy into predictable passing situations where it can sick the all out blitz schemes that limited Patrick Nicely last week and hope that Zach Collaros rushes a few throws that can be exploited for picks. Otherwise it will look alot like a pitch and catch out there. The last time Cincy got into the Dome they rung up 52 points and with last week’s drop in the BCS polls, the Cats could be looking to make a few statements to the pollsters at the expense of the Orange.
Why Syracuse will win: The revamped offensive line gives the Orange offense balance and keeps Paulus confident in the pocket. Mike Williams returns and continues to be un-guardable and Sales confidence boost against Akron pays off. Pike is unable to go and Collaros inexperience leads to a few turnovers setting up the Orange for a few easy scores.
Why Cincinnati will win: Cincy should have no problem breaking down the Orange secondary. Gilyard, Armon Binns and DJ Woods should find lots of room in secondary that has been scorched more than Southern California’s forests.
Syracuse player to watch: The Orange’s new revamped offensive line (White, Bart, Tiller, Rosner.) The four were able to boost the Orange rush game last weekend and keep Paulus relatively unscathed. A repeat effort would be big for the Orange.
Cincinnati player to watch: We know alot about the skill position players, but its the unsung offensive line, that is a big reason for the Bearcats offensive success. The unit has allowed only 7 sacks and has had continuity with led by senior Jeff Linkenbach making his 23rd start.
LVO prediction: Cincinnati 42-17.
Reyes39 prediction: Cincinnati 34 Syracuse 21
-"Recent Meetings" sheet courtesy of Covers.com
-Mike Williams photo courtesy of Frank Ordonez - the Syracuse Post Standard
