Chris Peal
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. The four seasons span two programs and two head coaches: Kirby Smart and Fran Brown. One game to point at: 9 tackles against Virginia — Week 6, 2026.
45 tackles · 0 sacks
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
45 tackles. 3 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 0 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Fans first named Chris Peal vs California.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Last game (Wk 9): 8 tackles.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 8 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 66-3vs New Hampshire | 5 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 18-21vs California | 4 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 13-27@ Pittsburgh | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 5 | W 42-41@ UConn | 6 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 25-28@ Virginia | 9 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 9 tackles |
| Wk 7 | L 26-34vs Louisville | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 8 | W 31-30@ North Carolina | 7 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 30-27vs No. 19 SMU | 8 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 45 | 27 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 3 |
Oct. 31 · W 30-27 vs SMU, play by play
8 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
His game this year: coverage — 3 passes defended in the 8 games with play by play.
How Syracuse’s defense played that day
SMU’s 11 drives: 7 stopped (2 takeaways) · 4 scored. While the game was within a score they held 7 of 10.
7 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
3 tackles, including 2 passes broken up, tied for 10th-most passes broken up in FBS that week.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
9 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 10 for him; the box score credits 9.
6 tackles. He hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 7 for him; the box score credits 6.
3 tackles, including 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 2 of his 3, sacks included.
4 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 3 of his 4, sacks included.
5 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Ratings of the games shown run from -8 to +13 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
7%3 pass breakupsTackle volume
45tackles this seasonTFL rate
0%0 TFL45 tackles · 3 pass breakups.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 5.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| Road4g | 6.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 5.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 7.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Fran Brown
Pass share
47.4%
300 pass / 333 run
Plays / game
79.1
8 games
Team sack rate
5.3%
339 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced, fast tempo.
Player standing · 2026
45 tackles in 8 games, about as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive back who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Former four-star. Now #201 at the position.
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-ACC
Based on 2025: #49 of 75 ACC DBs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 15% of returning players who ranked #21 or lower at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 13–17%).
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 22 games over four seasons.
The role got bigger.
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
2 coachesPlayed for 2 head coaches at 2 schools: Kirby Smart and Fran Brown.
