NCAAF Update: Some Teams To Avoid In Week 2

Author: Mansi

It’s been a week since the 2020 season of college football began, amidst a global health emergency with several teams making their season debut this time, like the champion Clemson Tigers.

Teams to steer clear of in this season

Eastern Kentucky

Looking at their season opener against team Marshall that they lost by a score of 59-0, it’s pretty evident that this team is one of those to fade in the second week. Although it has an impressive score of 34.5 after their win against West Virginia, this magnitude is very low to keep them going in the game.

Jarret Doege returns for his team West Virginia. Despite having as many as 11 team players suspended due to reasons undisclosed (ten of which were on the offensive side, they remain stable on the roster as they have returned three of the team’s offensive line players, In addition to Doege. This in turn has made the team grow stronger, and due to this Eastern Kentucky has to work very hard to win against West Virginia.

The Mountaineers defeated Eastern Kentucky for a 56 against 10, earlier this week. The team’s offensive player Jarrett Doege got three touchdown passes and quarterbacks Alec Seinfield and Leddie Brown pushed the team to victory.

Syracuse Orange

Despite its team members getting replaced alongside a distorted training schedule, the Oranges managed to be one of the most hyped underdogs this season. However, they lost to the North Carolina Tar Heels, one of the toughest teams this year. A bunch of betting websites like OddsShark, FanSided, etc. have predicted that Syracuse is one of the teams to fade out in Week 2.

Team North Carolina has returned most of its starting players (four on the offensive line and two running backs, Michael Carter and Javonte Williams). UNC passer and star quarterback Sam Howell headlines the Tar Heel defense after completing quite a commendable campaign. Ever since this 19-year-old passed for 3,641 yards and 38 touchdowns and made a record of the third-highest single-season total in the history of ACC has fetched him a significant amount of fanfare and fed the offseason hype for his second-year playing quarterback. Additionally, players Dazz Newsome and Dyami Brown return as Sam Howell’s top two pass catchers.

On the other hand, Syracuse has not only switched defensive schemes but has also replaced most of its players, including two defensive backs, two defensive linemen, and three linebackers, whereas, North Carolina has returned as many as eight players on defense with a commendable experience.

Despite Syracuse’s slowly but steadily improving game, their matchup against North Carolina has been extremely unimpressive. The Tar Heels defeated the Oranges for a 31 against 6 last week, winning in their home ground, Kenan Memorial Stadium in North Carolina. Syracuse’s offense side struggled hard to stay afloat as their quarterback player Tommy Devito for 112 yards, finished only 13 out of 31 passes. Dino Babers, the team coach of Syracuse was convinced that North Carolina had defeated them with a huge margin and promised to help the players with their shortcomings.

Duke Blue Devils

After finishing 5 against 7 in the last season, the Duke Blue Devils entered the season as an underdog (with 19.5 points) and took on the team Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

The Blue Devils’ offense side has gone through numerous replacements and shifts after their coordinator pulled out earlier this season. The team has also brought in Chase Brice, a Clemson transfer to play quarterback on the offense side. It is for a fact that he has strengthened the team’s offense multifold. However, the constrained practice schedule being one of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemics may enable the Notre Dam defense players against them.

On the other side, Notre Dame not only has an advantage on the defensive end, but it also holds several advantages on the offense side. Apart from getting their starting quarterback Ian Book returned, they have also returned all their five starting offensive players. Unfortunately, on the other hand, Blue Devils’ has gotten all there four starters along their defensive side and both starting linebackers, replaced. Even if they are, Duke Blue Devils do not have enough experience to fight the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.