Even though college football won’t be back for another three months, there’s always a lot to discuss. Tennessee will have to travel to Atlanta to play a Syracuse team that just finished one of their best seasons in recent memory before they begin their packed SEC schedule. Kyle McCord and a number of other gifted offensive players were brought on by new head coach Fran Brown to make significant progress in the first season.
Although the program appears to be improving, they will need to replace a lot of talented players this offseason. Along with running back LaQuint Allen and star tight end Orandre Gadsden, Syracuse also lost McCord to the NFL Draft. Trebor Pena, a top receiver, ended up at Penn State after hitting the portal.
Brown will now look to quarterbacks Ricky Collins, who comes from LSU, and Steve Angeli, who arrives from Notre Dame. This opener’s primary plot points are that circumstance and Tennessee’s three-man quarterback competition.
Additionally, Tennessee is already on upset alert according to CBS Sports. There is now a lot of uncertainty at quarterback for the Volunteers, who started as a double-digit favourite. Brad Crawford believes Syracuse might pull off an upset to start the season because of this.
The Vols entered as a 12.5-point favourite over the Orange in one of two games played inside Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium on opening weekend, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. With Tennessee launching a new offence under UCLA transfer quarterback Joey Aguilar after the Nico Iamaleava scandal, nearly two touchdowns seems excessive, don’t you think? After spring camp, Syracuse signed Steve Angeli, a transfer signal caller from Notre Dame, who will face Rickie Collins in fall camp. Contrary to what the first phrase implies, this one should be more competitive. (CBS Sports, Brad Crawford)
It’s hardly the most absurd idea. Nico Iamaleava, Dylan Sampson, a number of receivers, and four front-line starters will all be replaced by Tennessee. They will once more rely on their defence, which is probably going to open the season without standout cornerback Jermod McCoy. The good news? It appears that Syracuse is facing many of the same problems as well.
Naturally, a lot of this depends on both teams’ quarterback positions. Despite having less system experience than both George MacIntyre and Jake Merklinger, it will be intriguing to see if Joey Aguilar can secure the position come autumn. Appalachian State’s two-year starter Aguilar has some impressive stats, but turnover has been a serious problem. Josh Heupel’s streamlined offence might be able to address some of that right away.
This one might be hard right out of the gate in Atlanta, regardless of who starts for both sides.
