Doug Marrone has made no secret that crafting a game plan for Minnesota has been an unusually complicated task. Like Syracuse, the Golden Gophers have two new coordinators, making film work an exercise in guessing and intuition. Without any history to reference, Marrone can’t know for sure what schemes Minnesota will implement. It is a challenge especially difficult for someone preparing for his first game as a college head football coach. Marrone has gathered whatever information he can, poring obsessively over newspapers and blogs for the slightest insight into what the Gophers will bring to the Carrier Dome on Saturday for Syracuse’s season-opener (noon, ESPN2). And if he’s learned anything from the research, it’s that the best way to handle the situation is actually quite simple: trust your players and just let them play. ‘At the end of the day, you’re basically putting together a game plan of what your players do well and what they feel comfortable with,’ Marrone said. ‘You’re not going to be able to show them a lot of film of the opposing team from a scheme standpoint, so you’re just going to be able to show them personnel. You do what you believe you can be successful with, and you play football.’ Nevertheless, having limited video evidence of the Gophers’ defense makes preparing first-time starter Greg Paulus that much more difficult. Paulus has not played an organized football game in nearly five years and there is still no evidence he is ready to compete at a high level after such a long layoff. Paulus admitted Tuesday that planning for the Gophers has been ‘tough’ without an extensive film library to study. Despite not knowing much about how this Minnesota squad will look come Saturday, the Orange has spent time in practice studying the new coordinators’ tendencies in previous jobs. Gophers’ co-defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove most recently spent four seasons running the defense at Nebraska, and Paulus hopes watching old tape has given him a clue about what he will see this weekend. ‘Despite different personnel, he’s been a guy who’s mixed it up, whether that might be blitzing or dropping coverage – just giving different looks,’ Paulus said. ‘That’s something we need to prepare for, and it’s something you can’t look back on Minnesota film from last year because he wasn’t there. It’s something we’re trying to figure out in our game plan, and that’s on us to get us ready to go.’ On the other side of the ball, Marrone didn’t need any help to know who to gear his defense toward. Senior receiver Eric Decker was a First Team All-Big Ten selection last season and is one of the best wideouts in the country. He made 84 catches last year for 1,074 yards with seven touchdowns, cementing his status as a potential first-day pick in next year’s NFL draft. Even without film, Marrone can safely assume that new Minnesota offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch will rely on Decker all year. Now Marrone has to figure out a way to stop him with an unproven defensive secondary unit that struggled throughout most of last season. But he admitted stopping Decker will be a ‘tremendous challenge.’ SU starting defensive end Mikhail Marinovich stressed the importance of putting pressure on the quarterback, but ultimately, the defensive backs will need to make plays if the Orange is going to contain Decker. ‘He’s a go-to receiver,’ Orange safety Mike Holmes said. ‘He’s going to catch everything, run solid routes. He’s not the fastest guy, but fast enough to get behind you. He’s a good player.’

Depth chart notes

Marrone unveiled the Syracuse depth chart Monday afternoon, ending a slew of position battles that waged throughout summer training camp. In perhaps the most competitive group, true freshman Alec Lemon has emerged as a starting wide receiver alongside Mike Williams and Marcus Sales. Lemon beat last year’s leading wideout, Donte Davis, for the job. ‘He performed better,’ Marrone said. ‘I said it during the whole thing that Alec Lemon is a guy who caught a 100-and-something balls his senior year of high school. Alec Lemon is a good football player. Now he has to get to the next step.’ Sophomore Ryan Gillum made a late push to overtake true freshman E.J. Carter at weakside linebacker. The position was ravaged by defections, including JUCO transfer Derek Hines, who was the slotted starter but left the team before playing a single game. Marrone said that though Gillum won the job, Carter will still be an integral component to the defense. Another surprise came at defensive end, where Marinovich supplanted last year’s starter Jared Kimmel, who is trying to come back from his second knee surgery in 18 months. Marinovich, a sophomore, won the job after an impressive camp and intense offseason workouts. ‘[Marrone] told me pretty straight-up that the summer determined my status here and where I was at one the team,’ Marinovich said. ‘He said if I get my weight and work hard, then I have a shot. We started tracking all my reps, and I pretty much doubled the scores in all my categories from the spring.’

Meldrum injured

Offensive tackle Jonathan Meldrum injured his upper arm during practice Monday and underwent an MRI Tuesday, according to a statement released by SU Athletics. No surgery will be necessary. His status for Saturday’s game is still unknown. Meldrum is listed as the starting right tackle.

jediamon@syr.edu