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In Syracuse’s 38-3 loss to Duke Saturday, the Orange allowed 16 offensive plays of at least 10 yards. Fran Brown blamed his team’s defensive lapses on its failure to set the edge, allowing the Blue Devils to find open space outside the hash marks.
To “set the edge” essentially means the outside linebackers keep the opponent from getting the ball outside the tackles. Against a team like Duke, a spread offense that thrives off speedy halfbacks and strong outside receiving threats, it was paramount for SU to set the edge.