Cuse TV: Shafer and the Orange Start the Second Half
10/13/2014 3:14:00 PM | Football
Shafer looks ahead to the team's first ACC road trip
After five of the team's first six games were home, Syracuse will hit the road this week to Wake Forest for the Orange's first ACC road contest of the season.
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'Cuse is coming off hosting Florida State and while despite not getting the desired outcome, head coach Scott Shafer was encouraged by what he saw from his team, especially some of the freshman, when they squared off with the No. 1 team in the nation.
"I think the future is bright with a lot of those freshmen and some of the others who haven't had an opportunity to step in yet," Shafer said. "I was really pleased; you throw those kids into the fire, especially AJ, just the way he responded. I had a feeling that he wasn't going to have any problems mentally and just taking that approach that he's just going out and playing football because he's done that since day one since he's been here. It was also nice to see Steve Ishmael go out and make some difficult catches."
Now, Syracuse looks to notch its first conference win of the year against the Demon Deacons.
"As we look to Wake Forest who is coming off a bye week, I'm sure they'll have some wrinkles for us," Shafer said. "They're playing good defense and have a good defensive unit, some very good safeties and linebackers who do a good job of plugging up the middle, so we'll have to get after that group. Offensively they've had some struggles, but they've had some time to get ready and prepare for us, so we're going to be attacked and I'm sure they'll do a good job of attacking our tendencies. So it'll be a mixed bag of things, but we'll have to do a good job of changing things up on that side of the ball to keep them off balance."
With the season reaching the midway point, the Orange are focused on approaching the second half as a completely different piece of the year.
"We're at the midway point of the season and we're not where we wanted to be. We're sitting at 2-4 and now we have to wipe that slate clean and say we're in the second half," Shafer said. "It's a brand new situation and our whole goal is to get to 1-0 in the second half of the season. How do you do that? You keep working on the things you know you need to improve upon and you keep the faith in staying with the plan and the vision that you had from day one. Now you may be doing that with some different kids, some different names, but that's part of what we do. So, stay true to what you believe in and keep working at it extremely hard and go out there and play carefree football where the kids can play loose and fast."
For more of what coach Shafer had to say about the Florida State game and looking ahead to Wake Forest, watch his interview with Cuse TV: Coach Shafer Interview
Tickets are available online (www.Cuse.com), by phone (888-DOMETIX), at Destiny USA kiosks and at the Carrier Dome Box Office (Gate B). In addition, discounted group tickets (20+), with prices as low as $10 each, are available for all home games by calling the Ticket Sales office (443-3212).
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For complete coverage of Syracuse and Syracuse football, follow us on Facebook (Syracuse Orange & Syracuse Football) and Twitter (@Cuse & @CuseFootball). Check out exclusive videos on Orange All-Access and behind-the-scenes pictures on Instagram (syracuseathletics).
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'Cuse is coming off hosting Florida State and while despite not getting the desired outcome, head coach Scott Shafer was encouraged by what he saw from his team, especially some of the freshman, when they squared off with the No. 1 team in the nation.
"I think the future is bright with a lot of those freshmen and some of the others who haven't had an opportunity to step in yet," Shafer said. "I was really pleased; you throw those kids into the fire, especially AJ, just the way he responded. I had a feeling that he wasn't going to have any problems mentally and just taking that approach that he's just going out and playing football because he's done that since day one since he's been here. It was also nice to see Steve Ishmael go out and make some difficult catches."
Now, Syracuse looks to notch its first conference win of the year against the Demon Deacons.
"As we look to Wake Forest who is coming off a bye week, I'm sure they'll have some wrinkles for us," Shafer said. "They're playing good defense and have a good defensive unit, some very good safeties and linebackers who do a good job of plugging up the middle, so we'll have to get after that group. Offensively they've had some struggles, but they've had some time to get ready and prepare for us, so we're going to be attacked and I'm sure they'll do a good job of attacking our tendencies. So it'll be a mixed bag of things, but we'll have to do a good job of changing things up on that side of the ball to keep them off balance."
With the season reaching the midway point, the Orange are focused on approaching the second half as a completely different piece of the year.
"We're at the midway point of the season and we're not where we wanted to be. We're sitting at 2-4 and now we have to wipe that slate clean and say we're in the second half," Shafer said. "It's a brand new situation and our whole goal is to get to 1-0 in the second half of the season. How do you do that? You keep working on the things you know you need to improve upon and you keep the faith in staying with the plan and the vision that you had from day one. Now you may be doing that with some different kids, some different names, but that's part of what we do. So, stay true to what you believe in and keep working at it extremely hard and go out there and play carefree football where the kids can play loose and fast."
For more of what coach Shafer had to say about the Florida State game and looking ahead to Wake Forest, watch his interview with Cuse TV: Coach Shafer Interview
Tickets are available online (www.Cuse.com), by phone (888-DOMETIX), at Destiny USA kiosks and at the Carrier Dome Box Office (Gate B). In addition, discounted group tickets (20+), with prices as low as $10 each, are available for all home games by calling the Ticket Sales office (443-3212).
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For complete coverage of Syracuse and Syracuse football, follow us on Facebook (Syracuse Orange & Syracuse Football) and Twitter (@Cuse & @CuseFootball). Check out exclusive videos on Orange All-Access and behind-the-scenes pictures on Instagram (syracuseathletics).
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