The Daily Orange is a nonprofit newsroom that receives no funding from Syracuse University. Consider donating today to support our mission.

As Syracuse inches toward the midway point of its 2020 season, the Orange (1-3, 1-3 Atlantic Coast) face Liberty on Saturday for its only nonconference game of the year. The Flames (4-0) are undefeated, and they received votes in this week’s AP Top 25.

Auburn transfer and quarterback Malik Willis leads Liberty, who most recently defeated Louisiana-Monroe, 40-7. Syracuse dropped its last game to Duke, as the Blue Devils ran for 363 yards and generated 645 yards of total offense.

Here’s what The Daily Orange’s beat writers think will happen when Syracuse faces Liberty in the Carrier Dome:

Anthony Dabbundo (2-2)
Rock bottom
Liberty 24, Syracuse 17

I wasn’t sure we’d ever get to the point where the Orange were 3-point underdogs at home to Liberty. When these two teams met last year in Lynchburg, SU was a 19-point favorite and won 24-0. Playing without quarterback Tommy DeVito and potentially four of its best running backs from preseason, I’m not sure how Syracuse will score in this game without its defense creating turnovers. But the injuries are starting to pile up on that side of the ball, too.

Liberty was able to move the ball on the Orange last season but faltered in the red zone. I can’t pick the nation’s worst offense to win a game, so Liberty narrowly wins this one. The Orange move to 1-4, with Clemson up next, and it becomes time for head coach Dino Babers to see what he has in some of his younger talent across the board.

Danny Emerman (2-2)
Crisis averted
Syracuse 21, Liberty 17

Losing to Liberty, even with such a depleted roster and a season unlike any other, would be the low point in Babers’ Syracuse career. There’s no way anyone in central New York envisioned SU being underdogs to the Flames when the teams agreed to a three-game series in 2018. Hugh Freeze’s program has only been in the FBS for two full seasons.

I don’t expect Rex Culpepper to light the Flames on fire, but he’s capable of doing just enough game-managing to keep Liberty at bay. Even Syracuse’s backups should be able to stave off Liberty at home. If not, that would be a big “owie,” to use a Babers phrase, for the Orange.

Adam Hillman (2-2)
Relief
Syracuse 30, Liberty 20

The injuries are well-documented and the key players out are well-known, but I can’t pick Liberty to beat an ACC school. One team is filled with three-stars, even if they are true freshmen, and the other is an amalgamation of transfers and players from a previous coaching staff.

Those judging the Flames by their 4-0 record are short-minded, as the three FBS teams that LU has beaten have a combined 1-10 record, and none are from Power 5 conferences. Liberty doesn’t have Washington Football Team wide receiver Antonio Gandy-Golden anymore, but it touts Willis instead. This will be much closer than it should be because of SU’s lack of depth, but don’t be fooled by the Flames’ record.

Published on October 14, 2020 at 10:14 pm