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Every bye week has its pros and cons, Syracuse head coach Dino Babers said at his weekly virtual press conference. While the break was much-needed for his team, which is dealing with a myriad of injuries at key spots, Babers is worried that Duke will enter the Carrier Dome on Saturday more ready to play after its 38-31 loss to Virginia Tech.

“They have a huge advantage because they played a game last week, and that normally means they’re going to have an opportunity to start a little bit faster than us,” Babers said. “We’re going to have an advantage that we’re going to have some guys healthy, supposedly. And hopefully, we can catch up to game speed fast enough that we don’t get too far behind, and we can make a game of it.”

With an almost all-conference schedule in the 2020 season, there are no “gimmes,” Babers said. The starters get a heavy snap count, and the reserves might hardly touch the field. The week off gave the starters a needed respite and provided the reserves with more time to learn the playbook and earn playing time, Babers said.

As Syracuse (1-2, 1-2 Atlantic Coast) prepares for its upcoming contest against the Blue Devils (0-4, 0-4), Babers didn’t provide much insight into who will be available for the Orange. He’s weary of any advantage that can come from personnel disclosure and, expectedly, kept most updates to himself.

Orange players still banged up

The most notable injury Syracuse is dealing with is that of preseason All-American safety Andre Cisco, who collided with wide receiver Ed Hendrix during warmups before the Georgia Tech game.

Babers called Cisco’s injury a “lower body extremity injury,” and said he hadn’t seen anything like that incident happen in his playing or coaching career. He didn’t say whether Cisco will be available for Saturday’s contest, or if there’s a timetable for his return.

“But I’ll tell you what,” Babers said, “I’ve seen him every day, and he’s been smiling, and he’s been excited. So we’ll see.”

Also in the secondary, safety Eric Coley was out of the lineup against Georgia Tech. The Manlius native has an “owie,” Babers said.

Rob Hanna stepped up against the Yellow Jackets in Coley and Cisco’s absence, recording a team-high nine tackles and an interception as a true freshman. Freshman Ja’Had Carter (one interception, eight tackles) also had a strong performance, but Babers said he’s eager for more experience to return to the defense.

“We got some young pups out there,” Babers said. “We are really encouraged, and we’re really looking forward to getting Eric’s experience back to put one of those guys in our rotation or at least be able to spell them for a couple plays so they’re not out there all the time.”

Babers mentioned before the season began that reinforcements were coming on the offensive line around October. Redshirt junior Dakota Davis has yet to suit up for the Orange in 2020, though there’s still no timetable for Davis’s and other reserve linemen to get cleared.

“We’ve got open arms waiting for those guys to come back,” Babers said. “And we need them. The day that there is a change, we’ll be excited. And we still got to remember with those guys, even when they’re healthy enough to come back, they’ve still got to get in shape. They’re not going to be in the type of game shape where they can come back and play every snap.”

As of Monday afternoon, SU hasn’t released a Week 4 depth chart.

SyraSlam Diego?

In Tommy DeVito’s 13-for-24, two-touchdown and one-pick performance against Georgia Tech, backup Rex Culpepper didn’t play a snap. Heading into the game, Babers said that DeVito was Syracuse’s starter, but Culpepper has packages SU likes to use.

When asked about Syracuse’s quarterback situation on Monday, Babers compared it to a bullpen in baseball: If one passer doesn’t have it, he may have to make the call for a relief appearance.

The San Diego Padres used nine pitchers in their Game 3 clinching win over the St. Louis Cardinals, said Babers, who grew up in San Diego.

“We’re going to be like the Padres,” Babers said. “We’re going to do whatever it takes to win the football game. If we need to play one and our starter can sit out there and throw nine innings and we can win, God bless him. And if we need to go to a reliever, whether it’s long or short, we will. If we have to go to a closer, we’ll go to a closer, too.”

Published on October 5, 2020 at 1:59 pm

Contact Danny: dremerma@syr.edu | @DannyEmerman