Dino Babers gives injury updates, talks offensive line prior to showdown with Virginia Tech

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Dino Babers was uncharacteristically late to his weekly press conference. He said the reason for his tardiness, and his all-black outfit instead of his typical Hawaiian shirt, was because Syracuse (4-3, 0-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) has a unique practice schedule before facing Virginia Tech (3-4, 2-1 ACC) on Thursday. Babers mentioned he never holds practices on Sundays or Mondays, but traveling to Blacksburg (Virginia) on a Wednesday changed that.

SU’s bye week was desperately needed as it had dropped three straight to Clemson, then-No. 14 North Carolina and No. 4 Florida State. The Orange have scored just three touchdowns since their matchup against the Tigers.

But after the 41-3 to FSU, Babers said the offense would return to how it played in the team’s first four games. He furthered that sentiment today, citing the bye week as an opportunity for players to get away from the team and “eat mom’s cooking.”

“I think the biggest thing is the rest. You’re gonna get a lot of guys that are gonna get rested,” Babers said. “We should see the better side of a lot of guys that haven’t had an opportunity to rest.”

Here are some more observations from Babers’ weekly presser:

Bucking the trend from last year

Syracuse’s season so far has played out similarly to 2022. Like last year, the Orange jumped out to an undefeated start before a loss to Clemson marked the beginning of a multi-game losing streak. SU is still looking to get out of the loss column, but Babers didn’t like the comparison.

“I think the biggest thing is you can’t compare two teams,” Babers said. “There’s no doubt that we understand what happened last year. And this is an opportunity to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Midseason injuries have exposed Syracuse’s lack of depth in each of the last two seasons. In 2022, it caused a five-game losing streak. And in 2023, the Orange lost their best pass catcher to a season-ending Lisfranc injury in the second game.

During his last press conference ahead of the Florida State game, Babers also said that a school like SU isn’t going to have a lot of depth due to intrigue from the transfer portal.

But to mitigate another disastrous second half slump, Babers said the captains — Garrett Shrader, Marlowe Wax, Justin Barron, Brady Denaburg, Damien Alford and Isaiah Johnson — controlled practices during the bye week and led a team meeting.

“I thought (it) was a fantastic meeting and the big thing is you have to close,” Babers said. “…You can’t carry the first part of the season into the second half.”

Improved offensive line?

Babers referred to his offensive line as “elephants” and “hippos” but the Orange have allowed 18 sacks, which is tied with North Carolina for the third-most in the ACC. And even though Syracuse gave up three sacks to the Seminoles, Babers seemed pleased with SU’s offensive line and said they could “run the show.”

“I’m excited to see what might happen,” Babers said.

Babers also said the offensive line needs to build chemistry with each other, especially with season-ending injuries to starters like right tackle David Wohlabaugh Jr. But SU’s head coach singled out starting left guard Chris Bleich as doing an “exceptional job.”

Injury update

Babers specifically mentioned how players can use the bye week to get healthier but said wide receiver Trebor Pena and offensive lineman Kalan Ellis will not be available against Virginia Tech on Thursday.

As for fellow offensive lineman Joe More, Babers said More will be on the second team for the upcoming game.

Dino on the ‘tush push’

Before a reporter could finish his question to Babers about the “tush push,” the head coach had to laugh. It goes to show how far the play, perfected by the Philadelphia Eagles, has grown in popularity. It’s fitting that Babers got asked about the running play, considering his team has more rushing touchdowns than passing touchdowns.

“Based off of what’s going on with it, defensive coaches will probably get together, create some kind of rule that it’s not legal anymore and get it out of here,” Babers said. “Until then, it’s a very effective play.”

He was asked a follow up about whether or not he wants to keep the tush push in the game. Babers stood in silence for about six seconds before responding.

“It’s okay,” Babers said.