Syracuse (3-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast) hosts No. 8 Louisiana State (2-0, 2-0 Southeastern) on Saturday at noon with its once-fifth-string quarterback in line to start. Here are five keys for the game.

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1. Stopping Leonard Fournette

The Heisman Trophy candidate’s high school coach said the only way to stop him is with kryptonite. Fournette ran for 228 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries against Auburn last week. Though it’s come against weak competition, SU’s defense has allowed just 46.7 rushing yards per game.

2. Zack Mahoney leading Syracuse’s offense

After coming in midway through last week’s game against Central Michigan and eventually playing every snap of the Orange’s only overtime drive, Mahoney is in line to start against the Tigers. Just a couple weeks ago, the sophomore walk-on was the fifth-string quarterback. He specialized in the triple option when he first came in last week, but converted a crucial third-and-five with a 13-yard pass to Kendall Moore.

3. Syracuse playmakers stepping up

Last year, in a 38-20 loss to Florida State, wide receiver Steve Ishmael had 93 receiving yards and two touchdowns while running back Prince-Tyson Gulley ran for 80 yards. What could have been a bigger blowout was limited to just 18 points and this week Syracuse faces another national powerhouse. Taking on a team that scored 45 points against then-No. 18 Auburn, SU will need playmakers like Ishmael, wide receiver Brisly Estime and running back Jordan Fredericks to break off big plays.

4. Battle in the trenches

LSU’s shortest starting offensive lineman is 6 feet, 5 inches tall and its lightest is 303 pounds.  That’s the same height as Syracuse’s tallest defensive lineman on its two-deep depth chart, defensive tackle John Raymon. The Tigers’ brutes have paved the way for Fournette and despite Syracuse’s Ron Thompson, Luke Arciniega and Donnie Simmons putting in strong recent performances, they have a chance to shred the Orange.

5. Capitalizing on Deion Jones’ first-half suspension

The Tigers’ starting weak-side linebacker and leading tackler Jones won’t play in the first half after targeting an opponent last week. So far this season, LSU hasn’t used much depth and plays its starting linebackers most of the time, according to Ross Dellenger of The Advocate. One of Jones’ strengths is his ability to go sideline-to-sideline, so if the Orange can get the ball to its playmakers on the outside, it might be able to take advantage of his absence.

Published on September 25, 2015 at 4:30 pm

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