Syracuse squares off with against #19/20 South Florida at Raymond James Stadium for the Orange's third BIG EAST contest of the season. Kickoff is scheduled for noon.
Syracuse Ready for Battle in the Sunshine State
10/17/2008 11:49:45 AM | Football
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Syracuse football team is gearing up for another top 20 showdown as the Orange takes on #19/20 South Florida Saturday, Oct. 18 at Raymond James Stadium. The game will be broadcast on the BIG EAST Network at noon.
Fans can purchase a subscription to Orange All Access for a rate of $79.95 for one year, $9.95 per month or $5.95 for a 24-Hour Pass. Live audio of Saturday's game will be featured here.
Syracuse's schedule is rated the 15th toughest in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The 11 FBS teams on Syracuse's schedule have a record of 46-20. SU's first five opponent this season are a combined 23-8.
The Orange looks to continue its trend of scoring early in the contest. Syracuse has scored on its first offensive drive in four of six games this season. At West Virginia, the Orange marched 81 yards on 16 plays in 8:39 and scored three points on a 26-yard field goal by Patrick Shadle. Syracuse also scored on its first drives against Northwestern, Northeastern and Pittsburgh.
When Syracuse gets the ball down the field, SU's offense has been clicking on all cylinders. Syracuse is 13-of-15 in the red zone this year. The Orange offense has scored eight touchdowns, including four scoring passes from senior quarterback Cam Dantley and three rushing touchdowns by senior tailback Curtis Brinkley. Senior kicker Patrick Shadle has converted five field goals in the red zone.
Brinkley looks to add another productive game to his repertoire against the Bulls. Last week at West Virginia, Brinkley recorded his fourth 100-yard rushing game of the season with 144 yards on 28 carries. Through week seven of the 2008 season, Brinkley has rushed for 103.50 yards per game, 19th best in the country. The Philadelphia, Pa. native moved into the 22nd spot on Syracuse’s career rushing record list last week. He has 1,589 career rushing yards on 369 carries (4.3 yards per rush).
While Syracuse's senior running back has played in 34 games in his career for SU, a majority of this season's Orange is constituted of players that are just starting to mature into their roles. Out of the 58 players who have taken the field for the Syracuse this season, 35 are players with less than two years of collegiate experience, including eight true freshmen, six redshirt freshmen, eight true sophomores and 13 redshirt sophomores.
Highlighting the defensive youth is sophomore linebacker Derrell Smith. Smith paced the Orange defense with eight tackles, including a career-best 3.5 for a loss of 17 yards, at West Virginia last week. Smith also recorded first collegiate sack for a loss of nine yards. He is tied for 12th in the BIG EAST in both 6.5 tackles per contest and 0.83 tackles for loss per game. The New Castle, Del. native moved to linebacker from running back for 2007 Spring practice and returned to linebacker prior to the 2007 game against Illinois.
Offensively, sophomore wideout Donte Davis and freshman wide receiver Marcus Sales have been Syracuse's two most-called targets. Davis leads the Orange with 230 yards on 21 receptions, producing a career day last week at West Virginia by posting 62 yards on seven receptions. Davis caught his first touchdown pass on a 27-yard strike against Pittsburgh earlier this season. Sales caught a career-high three passes for 20 yards at West Virginia. The Syracuse native scored his first touchdown against Penn State this year.
Looking at the special teams' youthful efforts, sophomore Rob Long is ranked fourth nationally and leads the BIG EAST in punting average with 46.3 yards per punt. Long's 43.04 career punting average ranks sixth among active kickers in the Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly 1-A).
Syracuse will not play a home game in October. The only other season in which Syracuse did not have a home game in October was 1979, when Syracuse played every game away from home because the Carrier Dome was under construction. The 34 days between home games is the sixth longest stretch for any team in the FBS this season. Syracuse returns to the Carrier Dome in two weeks and will host Louisville on Saturday, Nov. 1.
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