Thursday, January 2, 2025
Fantasy Guru - Baseball

CFB: North Carolina State at Syracuse Orange

OPENING DRIVE
TOP-20 BATTLE SET FOR SATURDAY IN THE JMA DOME
• Syracuse puts its unbeaten record to the test when it hosts ACC foe NC State. Saturday’s game concludes the Orange’s season-long, four-game homestand.

• The game will air on ACC Network with Mike Monaco (PxP), Tim Hasselbeck (analyst) and Kelsey Riggs (reporter) on the call.

• The Orange will try to start the campaign with six consecutive wins for just the third time since 1935 and first time since 1987. A win would also give the Orange their first ever 3-0 start in ACC play.

RARE COMPANY
• Syracuse is one of 15 remaining FBS teams and two ACC squads that are undefeated through the first six weeks of the season.

• The Orange’s 5-0 record marks its best start since 1987. It marks the fifth time since 1935 that Syracuse has started the year with five-straight victories.

• In the modern era (post World War II), Syracuse has won its first six games of the year twice – 1987 and 1959. Both of those squads went undefeated during the regular season.

BEST ON BEST
• Saturday’s game marks the first time that Syracuse has hosted a game between two ranked teams since 2001. It’s the first game between two top-20 teams in the Salt City since the 1998 season opener.

• This is the just the 13th Ɵ me since the construction of the Dome in 1980 that Syracuse has hosted a game between two ranked teams.

• Since the Associated Press rankings began in 1936, it marks just the 15th Ɵ me that the Orange have hosted a game between two ranked teams

SERIES HISTORY
• Saturday’s game will be the 16th all-time meeting between Syracuse and NC State. The squads have been ACC Atlantic Division foes since ‘Cuse joined the league in 2013.

• The Wolfpack leads the all-Ɵ me series, 13-2.

• The series dates back to a 43-20 Wolfpack win in 1972. The teams played four times in the 1970s, twice at each campus, before resuming the series with home-and-home dates in 1997 and 1998. Since 2013, the schools have played annually.

LAST TIME VS. NC STATE
• NC State scored 28 points in the second quarter and went on to a 41-17 victory at Carter-Finley Stadium.

• AŌ er neither team scored in the first quarter, the Wolfpack recorded two-straight touchdowns, the second coming on an interception return.

• RB Sean Tucker put Syracuse on the scoreboard on a 55-yard run, but NC State returned the ensuing kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown and scored another TD with eight seconds left in the first half to take a 28-7 halftime lead.

• The squads traded scores in the second half before a Christopher Dunn field goal with 3:45 left gave the Wolfpack a 41-17 victory.

• Tucker finished with 105 yards on 13 carries to become Syracuse’s all-Ɵ me single-season rushing leader.

• LB Mikel Jones led the Orange defense with 12 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack.

• NC State QB Devin Leary was 17-for-24 for 303 yards and two touchdowns

NC STATE AT A GLANCE
RECORD: 5-1
Home: 4-0; Away: 1-1; Neutral: 0-0

• NC State returned to the win column with a 19-17 victory against Florida State. The Wolfpack enters Saturday’s game with a 5-1 record, including a 1-1 mark in ACC play.

• Head coach Dave Doeren is in his 10th year at the helm of the NC State program. During his tenure, the Wolfpack has qualified for seven bowl appearances. Previously, Doeren served as head coach at Northern Illinois for two seasons after serving as defensive coordinator at Wisconsin and Kansas.

• QB Devin Leary was a finalist for the Johnny Unitas Award last season when he set a single-season school record with 35 passing touchdowns. He is 118-for-193 for 1,265 yards this season.

• The Wolfpack ranks second behind Syracuse in the ACC in total defense. NC State is allowing 297.8 yards per game.

• Three players have two interceptions this season, helping the Wolfpack to a league-best nine.

• K Christopher Dunn is the FBS active leader in points (430) and field goals made (80).

• LB Drake Thomas ranks 10th in the ACC in tackles with 46. He also has five quarterback hurries and three pass breakups.

GAME NOTES: TEAM
A WIN WOULD …
• Improve Dino Babers’ record to 35-43 as head coach of the Orange.

• Give Syracuse a 6-0 start for the first time since the 1987 season and just the third Ɵ me since 1935.

• Give the Orange their longest winning streak since 2001 (8).

• Make Syracuse bowl eligible for the first time since 2018.

• Give Syracuse its 747th all-Ɵ me victory (includes 11 wins from 2004-06 that were vacated by the NCAA). The Orange currently rank 22nd on the FBS ledger of winningest programs. Syracuse is one of 32 FBS schools to have accumulated 700+ wins.

• Syracuse’s first victory over a ranked opponent since the 2018 Camping World Bowl against then No. 15 West Virginia.

NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
• Syracuse is 3-0 against non-league foes this season with one non-conference game remaining.

• The 3-1 mark outside the ACC in 2021 during the regular season equaled the best mark under head coach Dino Babers. The Orange also posted 3-1 non-conference records in 2018 and 2019.

• ‘Cuse is 10-4 in its 14 home non-league games under Babers.

• Under Babers, Syracuse has outscored its nonconference opponents in the Loud House, 598-299.

ScoreBig - Get Tickets for Less

Related Articles

Leather Head Sports

Latest Articles

Cellucor C4