Dino Babers says NC State's defense is better than LSU's
Maybe the gap between the SEC and all other power five conferences really is closing.
Syracuse lost to NC State 33-25 on Saturday in a game that wasn’t as close as the score shows. The Orange went down 26-7 in the first half and never really had a chance to overtake the Wolfpack. That’s mostly because of NC State’s defense, which did give up more than 400 total yards, but only 59 yards on the ground.
Head coach Dino Babers figured this might be the case when he took his team to Raleigh. Even after facing an SEC defense in LSU earlier this year, the Syracuse coach thought the Wolfpack might provide a tougher test.
He’s leaving North Carolina feeling vindicated.
“This is a really, really good defense,” Babers said. “I told people I thought they were better than LSU and now I know they are better than LSU.”
Factually speaking, he’s not incorrect. Syracuse scored 26 points against LSU. It only managed 25 against NC State.
In looking at total defense statistics, however, LSU ranks 23rd in the FBS. NC State is sitting at No. 49.
No one tell Babers.
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Blake Schuster is a writer for Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at blakeschuster@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Schustee
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