It may only be the second game of the season, but the Orange are facing a must-win game on Saturday against ACC-rival Wake Forest. It is the first of eight conference games on Syracuse’s schedule and it is by far the most winnable. If the Orange can’t beat the worst team in the conference, it is hard to see where they will get other wins.
Despite the loss of Terrel Hunt, the Orange are 3.5 point favorites to beat the Demon Deacons at the Dome. Clearly, this is a game that the Orange should win, so if they do, it is hard for Orange fans to get too excited. Similar to the game against Rhode Island, the Wake Forest game represents little more than sixty minutes of survival. Survive and become one game closer to the six game mark.
The Wake game is obviously a bigger test than FCS Rhode Island but in terms of FBS opponents, it doesn’t come much easier than Wake Forest (with the exception of the Orange’s week three opponent, Central Michigan).
Obviously, freshman quarterback Eric Dungey will have a big say in whether or not the Orange pull out the victory on Saturday, even without Erv Phillips, who has been ruled of the game with a “lower body injury”.
Dungey really doesn’t need to be spectacular. Wake Forest, similar to Syracuse, blew out a weak FCS opponent in week one as they dismantled Elon, 41-3. With that said, they are not a good team. Saturday will go a long way to telling who is the weakest team in the ACC.
Despite the lack of continuity¬†at quarterback and now at wide receiver, Syracuse fans should definitely expect a win on Saturday. You only have to as far back as last year, when a– to put it honestly– bad Syracuse team went on the road and dominated Wake Forest, coming away with a 30-7 victory, which turned out to be the Orange’s only conference win on the season.
There is no other way to put it. Saturday is a must win game.
Expect the Orange to do just that. What are your expectations for the game on Saturday?
