After the win against NC State on Saturday, Syracuse broke in to the top 25 on the AP poll at number 22. This is the first time in 17 years that the Orange have been ranked and considered a “football school”. Syracuse is one of eight teams to have basketball and football in the top 25.
Coming off a week of quarterback controversy, it is expected that Eric Dungey will get the nod as starter this week. Tommy DeVito made a short appearance in the game against NC State, but it was Eric Dungey’s game.
Syracuse plays Wake Forest this weekend with the Orange traveling after back to back home games. Since this team is now ranked, there are greater expectations for this team and head coach Dino Babers.
Syracuse also clinched their first bowl last week. After their sixth win of the season, Syracuse is projected to be in its first bowl game since 2013, when Syracuse defeated Minnesota 21-17.
Meanwhile, Wake Forest is coming off an astounding 56-35 win against Louisville. The Demon Deacons had an impressive running game that the Cardinals could not stop. Their running back, Matt Colburn, ran for over 240 yards with three touchdowns.
In recent games, Syracuse linebackers have not been up to the task to hold off the run game. This was most prominent in the games against Clemson and Pittsburgh when opposing running backs ran for nearly 200 yards each. If Syracuse plans to stop this running game, then the middle linebackers need to step up, a theme that has been consistent all season long.
The middle linebackers are coming off one of their better performances of the season. The opposing running back only ran for 65 yards, the least amount since Syracuse played UConn five weeks ago.
The Demon Deacons will look to push above .500 as their current record sits at 4-4. Meanwhile the Syracuse Orange will continue to push and prove that this team does indeed deserve to be ranked. As always, tune in to WAER for kickoff at noon on Saturday. Also tune in to Countdown to Kickoff a half hour before the show, at 11:30.