Running into No. 2 Notre Dame
Syracuse, NY — One game left. Just sixty minutes of game clock to go before Syracuse head coach Dino Babers and the rest of the Orange can shut the door and finally walk away from what has been a nightmarish 2020 football season. The only thing standing between them and winter break bliss is the No. 2 ranked team in the country: the undefeated Notre Dame Fighting Irish (9-0). So instead of a gentle and genial farewell, it's more likely to resemble Fresh Prince's Uncle Phil tossing Jazz out of his Bel-Air home.
Yes, the 1-9 Syracuse Orange are sprinting toward the finish line despite being unable to run anywhere lately. In addition to a fourth-down spike as time expired, Saturday's 36-29 loss to NC State will be notoriously remembered for Syracuse's embarrassing lack of a run game. On twenty-five different attempts, Orange rushers could only muster a measly three yards on the ground. To put it more impressively, Orange runners ran a total of nine feet against the Wolfpack. It's incredible to think the Orange were within seven points when they couldn't even run for seven yards. Head coach Dino Babers said after the game that he knew they were lucky to be that close.
"Look at the run game, and there's absolutely nothing," Babers said on Saturday. "You have to be able to be balanced. You can win games being one dimensional, but it's hard to win games being one dimensional when you don't run the football."
As good as Syracuse made the Wolfpack look over the weekend, there are far better rushing defenses than NC State. There are very few, though, better than Notre Dame.
"No one's ran the ball against Notre Dame," Babers said Monday. "I believe they held Louisville for less than one hundred [yards]. If you go back to the rushing totals, I think they're in the top five in the country. No one has ran the ball against them. And now we're coming up."
In fact, the Cardinals totaled 96-yards rushing back in October, which is actually an above average day against the Irish. The Golden Domers have since cemented themselves as a top-five rushing defense. Teams are averaging just 85 yards on the ground, moving the ball less than three yards per carry. In nine games, opposing runners have scored eight times.
Notre Dame's run-stuffing stars include edge Daelin Hayes and linebackers Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Kyle Hamilton. Hayes leads all Irish defenders with a Pro Football Focus grade of 82.6 against the run. The graduate student has 12 solo tackles but is credited for 14 stops, or 14 "tackles that constitute a failure for the offense," according to PFF. Hayes is also one of Notre Dame's preeminent pass rushers, tied for third on the team with three sacks this season.
Owusu-Koramoah has logged the second-most snaps on the Irish defense (469), and more than a third of them (175) have been in defense of the run. The Virginia native grades out at a 77.7 against rushing attacks and leads his team with 21 stops. Owusu-Koramoah's 32 solo tackles are second only to fellow LB Kyle Hamilton.
Hamilton leads all Irish defenders with 42 tackles in 8 games played. His 18 stops make him an elite disruptor against both the run and pass. The 6'4" sophomore stunted against previously unbeaten Clemson, scoring a 79.5 against the run-reliant Tigers. The pair of Hamilton and Owusu-Koramoah combined for 17 tackles and 3.5 tackles-for-loss against the reigning ACC champions.
Freshman RB Sean Tucker has been a revelation for Syracuse this season, but he's struggled to find consistent production since being sidelined with a lower-body injury against Clemson. Since leaving that game, Tucker has run for 52 yards against Boston College, 93 yards in the Louisville rout, and 18 yards against NC State (most of his positive yardage undone by sacks and Nykeim Johnson's two carries for -10 yards).
Babers has not said who will get the start at quarterback against Notre Dame. Whether it's JaCobian Morgan, Rex Culpepper, or perhaps even freshman Dillon Markiewicz, none of them should expect too much help from the run game.
