Syracuse (4-4, 2-2 Atlantic Coast) faces No. 3 Clemson (8-0, 5-0) in Death Valley on Saturday. Before what will likely be the Orange’s toughest matchup all year, head coach Dino Babers spoke on the ACC teleconference.

Check out three things he said.

Clemson may be the No. 1 team in the nation

Babers has harped on his team being outmatched this week in preparation for the Orange’s matchup with Clemson. He continually reiterated that the Tigers have “draft choices” scattered throughout their roster. On Wednesday’s teleconference, he once again said the Tigers’ defense outmatches SU’s offense.

The College Football Playoff announced the rankings for the end-of-season four-team tournament, which will decide a national champion. Babers said Clemson might be “the best college football team in America, regardless of how the vote came out.” The coach hasn’t minced words this week, asking for just a “rock and a slingshot” to help him beat Clemson, making a reference to the story of David and Goliath.

In the College Football Playoff standings, Alabama is No. 1, followed by Clemson, Michigan and Texas A&M. Those are the four teams that would make the playoff if the season ended today. Washington, Ohio State, Louisville, Wisconsin, Auburn and Nebraska round out the Top 10.

Syracuse is looking to recruit 22 players minimum in the Class of 2017

Babers said Syracuse is recruiting essentially a level — at least 22 players — based on how low the Orange’s numbers are this season. Right now, SU has 20 pledges in its Class of 2017 and currently has three running backs, a position it seemingly deadlocked with at least three running backs in SU’s current rotation (Dontae Strickland, Moe Neal and Jordan Fredericks).

“We’re not quite sure on how that’s going to end up, how far it’s going to go past that,” Babers said of the 22-player minimum.

Earlier in the week, Syracuse.com reported that Markenzy Pierre had been told by the coaching staff that SU could move some running backs out of the backfield to make room for him and B.J. Daniels. Both committed during Syracuse’s bye week. Babers denied that the coaching staff communicated that.

“First of all you’re talking about something I know nothing about,” Babers said. “The last thing we would do is tell someone not in our program things that’s going to be going on inside of our program. … Unless you’re inside, you don’t really know what’s going on.”

Syracuse needs to keep Eric Dungey upright

The SU offensive line has been marred by injury. The program announced on Tuesday center Jason Emerich’s career is over. He hasn’t played since Week 3 of the season. Eric Dungey has suffered as a result throughout the year, taking unnecessary hits in the pocket. The Orange allowed 21 sacks in 751 snaps last season and has allowed 22 in 672 snaps this season, a slight increase.

Facing a defense that is tied for second in sacks per game this year, one of SU’s major focuses on Saturday will likely be keeping Dungey upright. Babers reiterated that on Wednesday.

“We would like to keep him around the entire year,” Babers said. “I’m sure they’ve got hostile intentions for our quarterback … We need to do a better job. We need to protect him.”

Published on November 2, 2016 at 12:33 pm

Contact Chris: cjlibona@syr.edu | @ChrisLibonati