After a gutsy 44-41 win over UNLV last weekend, who was ranked No. 25 at the time, Syracuse is well on its way to earning a spot in the AP poll, but it has to keep the momentum going.
The Rebels were the second ranked opponent the Orange have beaten this season after it beat Georgia Tech 31-28 in Week 2, who was ranked No. 23. It’s the first time Syracuse has beaten two ranked teams in a single season since 2001 when it came in at No. 14 on the final AP poll.
The Orange were one of the first teams below the top-25 rankings after the win over Georgia Tech, but a loss to Stanford the following week dashed any hopes of breaking into them. With its win against UNLV giving Syracuse a second chance, the Orange will turn its attention to an away game against NC State.
Syracuse has historically struggled against its ACC rival. The Orange have a 3-13 all-time record against the Wolfpack and a 1-7 record when playing NC State on the road, both of which are cause for concern, but the Orange are the better team this year. There’s no excuse for Syracuse not to win, and its poor history against the Wolfpack should only add extra motivation.
NC State, which is 3-3 and currently tied with North Carolina at the bottom of the ACC, has struggled to defend the pass all season. Its secondary has allowed 387.7 total yards per game, with 216.7 coming through the air.
Syracuse’s offense is firing on all cylinders, and it should take full advantage of NC State’s defensive flaws. With quarterback Kyle McCord at the controls, the Orange rank third in the country in passing yards at 369 per game and are sixth in third-down conversion rate, moving the chains 55% of the time.
McCord and the Orange offense should have no problem putting points on the board, and the Wolfpack don’t have the firepower to keep up. NC State’s quarterback, true freshman CJ Bailey, threw for 272 passing yards and a touchdown in the team’s narrow loss on Saturday to Wake Forest.
Those are respectable numbers, but Bailey averaged just 156 passing yards over his previous three games, and the game against Wake Forest was his first game with multiple passing touchdowns. He’s also thrown an interception in three of his four starts this year, and those numbers suggest the Wolfpack won’t be able to outgun Syracuse’s defense.
NC State’s run defense has been just as poor as its secondary, allowing 158.7 rushing yards per game. In the game against UNLV, running back LeQuint Allen rushed for 71 yards and scored two of his four touchdowns on the ground. If the Orange can’t succeed through the air on offense, Allen’s strong performance against the Rebels shows the team can rely on him instead.
All the signs point to a Syracuse win on Saturday, but the Orange still have to execute and prove its loss to Stanford was a fluke, and that it deserves to be ranked. The team’s win over UNLV is a step in the right direction, but Syracuse may not get another chance to enter the AP rankings if it loses to the Wolfpack on Saturday.
