# 2019 Syracuse Orange football team

The 2019 Syracuse Orange football team represented Syracuse University during the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Orange were led by fourth-year head coach Dino Babers and played their home games at the Carrier Dome, competing as members of the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They finished the season 5–7, 2–6 in ACC play to finish in sixth place in the Atlantic Division.

## Offseason
### Offseason departures
#### NFL draftees

| Player | Round | Pick | Team | Position |
| Chris Slayton | 7 | 245 | New York Giants | DT |

#### Undrafted free agents

| Player | Team | Position |
| Cody Conway | Tennessee Titans | OT |
| Jamal Custis | Kansas City Chiefs | WR |
| Eric Dungey | New York Giants | QB |
| Koda Martin | Los Angeles Chargers | OT |

### Recruiting

Syracuse's 2019 recruiting class consisted of 21 signees. The class was ranked as the 10th best class in the ACC and the 55th best class overall according to the 247Sports Composite.
US college sports recruiting information for 2019 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Luke Benson TE | Doylestown, PA | Central Bucks High School West | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Jun 24, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 72 |||||||
| Matthew Bergeron OT | Quebec City, QC | Cégep Garneau | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 280 lb (130 kg) | Jul 9, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 78 |||||||
| Geoff Cantin OLB | Quebec City, QC | Cégep Garneau | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Jun 22, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 78 |||||||
| Adrian Cole CB | Fort Lauderdale, FL | Plantation High School | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 156 lb (71 kg) | Jun 23, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 72 |||||||
| Cooper Dawson OT | Charleston, SC | Hanahan High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 250 lb (110 kg) | Dec 19, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 77 |||||||
| Ishmael Goulbourne DE | Palm Beach Gardens, FL | Dwyer High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Aug 1, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 72 |||||||
| Aman Greenwood S | Washington, D.C. | St. John's College High School | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Nov 28, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 76 |||||||
| Courtney Jackson WR | Monroeville, PA | Gateway High School | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | Apr 27, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 79 |||||||
| Garrison Johnson RB | Manvel, TX | Manvel High School | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Feb 6, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 75 |||||||
| Mikel Jones OLB | Bradenton, FL | IMG Academy | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 208 lb (94 kg) | Nov 21, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80 |||||||
| Lee Kpogba OLB | Winston-Salem, North Carolina | Parkland Magnet High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Nov 20, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 76 |||||||
| Steven Linton DE | Dublin, GA | Dublin High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Feb 6, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 74 |||||||
| Jason Munoz DE | Fort Lauderdale, FL | St. Thomas Aquinas High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 235 lb (107 kg) | Jan 28, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 77 |||||||
| Cornelius Nunn S | Miami, FL | Miami Palmetto High School | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Nov 21, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 77 |||||||
| Anthony Red Jr. OG | Oakdale, CT | St. Thomas More School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 275 lb (125 kg) | Jun 17, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 74 |||||||
| Joe Rondi DT | Wayne, NJ | Wayne Valley High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 250 lb (110 kg) | Jun 13, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 74 |||||||
| David Summers QB | Trumbull, CT | St. Joseph High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Jan 27, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 79 |||||||
| Darius Tisdale OT | Scranton, PA | Lackawanna College | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 295 lb (134 kg) | Dec 8, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 78 |||||||
| Andrew Tuazama DE | Matthews, NC | Jireh Prep | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 235 lb (107 kg) | Dec 15, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 75 |||||||
| Garrett Williams CB | Harrisburg, NC | Hickory Ridge High School | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 171 lb (78 kg) | Aug 1, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 74 |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 54 247Sports: 55 ESPN: 58 |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Rivals commits". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 20, 2019. "ESPN commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 20, 2019. "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 20, 2019. "247Sports commits". 247sports.com. Retrieved July 20, 2019. |||||||

## Preseason
### Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released
| Award | Player | Position | Year |
| Lott Trophy | Andre Cisco | S | So. |
| Chuck Bednarik Award | Andre Cisco | S | So. |
| Chuck Bednarik Award | Alton Robinson | DE | Sr. |
| Doak Walker Award | Moe Neal | RB | Sr. |
| Biletnikoff Award | Sean Riley | WR | Sr. |
| Rimington Trophy | Airon Servais | OL | Jr. |

### Preseason media poll

In the preseason ACC media poll, Syracuse was predicted to finish in second in the Atlantic Division, and received the second-most votes to win the conference championship game (although Clemson received 170 of 173 total votes).
Media poll (Atlantic Division) :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Clemson | 1209 (171) |
| 2 | Syracuse | 913 (2) |
| 3 | Florida State | 753 |
| 4 | NC State | 666 |
| 5 | Boston College | 588 |
| 6 | Wake Forest | 462 |
| 7 | Louisville | 253 |
Media poll (ACC Championship) :
| Rank | Team | Votes |
| 1 | Clemson | 170 |
| 2 | Syracuse | 2 |
| 3 | Virginia | 1 |

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 31 | 6:00 p.m. | at Liberty* | No. 22 | Williams StadiumLynchburg, VA | ESPN+ | W 24–0 | 21,671 |
| September 7 | 12:00 p.m. | at Maryland* | No. 21 | Maryland StadiumCollege Park, MD | ESPN | L 20–63 | 33,493 |
| September 14 | 7:30 p.m. | No. 1 Clemson | | Carrier DomeSyracuse, NY | ABC | L 6–41 | 50,249 |
| September 21 | 12:00 p.m. | Western Michigan* | | Carrier DomeSyracuse, NY | ACCN | W 52–33 | 40,700 |
| September 28 | 12:00 p.m. | Holy Cross* | | Carrier DomeSyracuse, NY | ACCN | W 41–3 | 40,575 |
| October 10 | 8:00 p.m. | at NC State | | Carter–Finley StadiumRaleigh, NC | ESPN | L 10–16 | 55,860 |
| October 18 | 7:00 p.m. | Pittsburgh | | Carrier DomeSyracuse, NY (rivalry) | ESPN | L 20–27 | 44,886 |
| October 26 | 3:30 p.m. | at Florida State | | Doak Campbell StadiumTallahassee, FL | ESPN2 | L 17–35 | 50,517 |
| November 2 | 12:00 p.m. | Boston College | | Carrier DomeSyracuse, NY | ACCN | L 27–58 | 42,857 |
| November 16 | 4:00 p.m. | at Duke | | Wallace Wade StadiumDurham, NC | ACCN | W 49–6 | 16,286 |
| November 23 | 4:00 p.m. | at Louisville | | Cardinal StadiumLouisville, KY | ACCN | L 34–56 | 46,769 |
| November 30 | 12:30 p.m. | Wake Forest | | Carrier DomeSyracuse, NY | ACCRSN | W 39–30 $^{OT}$ | 33,719 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after November 5 released prior to gameAll times are in Eastern time ||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
| AP | 22 | 21 | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Coaches | 22 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| CFP | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not released |

## Game summaries
### At Liberty

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 22 Orange | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
| Flames | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### At Maryland

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 21 Orange | 7 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 20 |
| Terrapins | 21 | 21 | 7 | 14 | 63 |

### Clemson

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 1 Tigers | 14 | 3 | 10 | 14 | 41 |
| Orange | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |

### Western Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Broncos | 0 | 13 | 20 | 0 | 33 |
| Orange | 14 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 52 |

### Holy Cross

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Crusaders | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Orange | 17 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 41 |

### At NC State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Orange | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 |
| Wolfpack | 6 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 16 |

### Pittsburgh

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Panthers | 10 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 27 |
| Orange | 3 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 20 |

### At Florida State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Orange | 0 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 17 |
| Seminoles | 13 | 8 | 14 | 0 | 35 |

### Boston College

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Eagles | 10 | 34 | 7 | 7 | 58 |
| Orange | 17 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 27 |

### At Duke

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Orange | 14 | 0 | 21 | 14 | 49 |
| Blue Devils | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |

### At Louisville

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Orange | 3 | 7 | 17 | 7 | 34 |
| Cardinals | 21 | 7 | 21 | 7 | 56 |

### Wake Forest

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Demon Deacons | 3 | 3 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 30 |
| Orange | 10 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 9 | 39 |

## Players drafted into the NFL

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL Club |
| 5 | 148 | Alton Robinson | DE | Seattle Seahawks |
| 7 | 228 | Sterling Hofrichter | P | Atlanta Falcons |