Friday night lights return to the Dome Friday night as Syracuse hosts Stanford. It’s the first-ever ACC conference game for the Cardinal. But while Stanford may be the newbies to the conference, it still flaunts a boatland of talent. Here’s three players to watch for Friday night:
#14 Ashton Daniels, Quarterback
It’s not everyday you see a quarterback leading the team in both passing yards AND rushing yards. But that’s what the Orange have to face in Daniels.
After a three-quarterback system in Stanford’s season opening loss to TCU, Daniels took the reins for game two against Cal Poly and dominated. The Cardinal won 41-7 to claim their first win of the season.
The Georgia native is now up to 384 passing and 118 rushing yards on the year. SU will have to pay extra attention to Daniels trying to run the ball on Friday.
#13 Elic Ayomanor, Wide Receiver
One of the more underrated wideouts in the nation, Ayomanor is looking for a breakout game against the Orange. After a 1,000 yard season a year ago, the Canadian is averaging almost 75 yards a game through two contests.
What he doesn’t have so far is a touchdown. The sophomore has been kept off the scoreboard so far, and if Syracuse can keep that going, it’ll be a big help.
At 6-2, 210, Ayomanor (who was a preseason top-25 player in the ACC), brings a physicality that SU will need to match defensively.
#0 Gaethan Bernadel, Linebacker
Stanford struggled on defense last year, ranking 129th in FBS for yards given up. A major key to changing that this season is the linebacker room, highlighted by the senior Bernadel.
Through just two games, Bernadel has 16 tackles. And he’s joined in tandem by fellow linebacker Tristan Sinclar, who has 11 tackles and a sack.
Syracuse has done a decent job with both establishing the run and giving Kyle McCord time thus far. If that were to change, Bernadel is likely to be a big reason why.
