2017 Week 8: vs Virginia - arthurbays's Dynasty

arthurbays's Dynasty Blog

2017 Week 8: vs Virginia

Posted on December 25, 2018 at 11:17 PM.

Virginia (3-4) @ #2 Syracuse (7-0)

The Orange will host the Cavaliers today in a game that should be easily winnable for Syracuse. The last two times that these teams met resulted in comfortable wins for the Orange, 22-0 in 2015 and 34-10 last year. The Cavaliers boast slightly below average offense and defense that should have trouble containing the high-powered Syracuse attack. The Orange don't look like they'll get a major test today but they do need to avoid throwing in the direction of Virginia defender Matt Jones who has already recorded 4 interceptions this year, proving to be a ball hawk. That being said, DeVito is one of the best decision makers in all of college football and should have no trouble leading his team to victory here today.

Prediction: 41-6 Syracuse

Virginia Cavaliers at Syracuse Orange
Oct 12, 2017	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Virginia Cavaliers (3-5)	7	0	14	3
#2 Syracuse Orange (8-0)	10	7	7	14

Virginia Cavaliers
PASSING	C/A	YDS	TD	INT
M. Banks	17/26	181	1	0
RUSHING	ATT	YDS	AVG	TD
L. Atkins	12	51	4.2	1
M. Banks	11	108	9.8	1
R. Alexander	1	9	9.0	0
T. Jana	1	1	1.0	0

Syracuse Orange
PASSING	C/A	YDS	TD	INT
T. DeVito	33/45	354	3	3
RUSHING	ATT	YDS	AVG	TD
T. DeVito	12	117	9.7	1
R. Patton	12	39	3.2	0
M. Pierre	7	44	6.2	1
A. Rawlins	1	4	4.0	0
RECEIVING	REC	YDS	AVG	TD
M. Archie	10	141	14.1	0
R. Patton	6	22	3.6	0
D. Brown	4	59	14.8	0
A. Rawlins	4	29	7.3	3
M. Pierre	3	21	7.0	0
C. Campbell	2	39	19.5	0
B. Dennis	2	23	11.5	0
J. Workman	1	12	12.0	0
W. McKinney	1	8	8.0	0

This game was much closer than most people expected that it would be. The Cavaliers came to play, forcing a whopping 5 turnovers from Syracuse and confusing their offense for most of the day. The game was within one score for most of the day, but Syracuse's defense did just enough to keep Virginia from being able to take control of the game. The Orange offense was simultaneously running smoothly and in disaster mode. They had little trouble moving the ball downfield through the air or the ground but an injury to starting HB Richard Patton and far too many turnovers led to a bad day overall. The defense was excellent in picking up the slack however. In what could have been a bad game they defended the pass very well for a second straight week and really kept Syracuse in this ball game. The defensive coordinator the past two years here at Syracuse deserves a lot of credit because there has not been much true talent on that side of the ball but they have held their own and proved to be a rather high-functioning unit. WR Matt Archie was the best player on offense today as he caught 10 passes for 141 yards, and WR Allen Rawlins caught 4 passes, 3 of them being touchdowns. After surviving the upset scare from Virginia, Syracuse will move on to play the Virginia Tech Hokies next week, a game that they will need to be hitting on all cylinders to win unlike today.

Final Score: 38-24 Syracuse