Preview: No. 22 Syracuse, Wake Forest Meet in Saturday Matinee

#22 SYRACUSE (6-2, 3-2 ACC) VS. WAKE FOREST (4-4, 1-3 ACC)
Game Details: 12 p.m. | Saturday, Nov. 3
Location: Winston-Salem, N.C. | BB&T Field
Game Links: Tickets | Listen | Watch | Live Stats
Television: RSN (Affiliates)
Radio: Syracuse IMG Sports Network
Twitter: @CuseFootball | @Cuse
Syracuse Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Stats | Notes (PDF)
Wake Forest Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Stats (PDF) | Notes (PDF)

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Orange football team (6-2, 3-2 ACC) will enter a game ranked for the first time since the 2001 season on Saturday, Nov. 3 when visits Atlantic Division foe Wake Forest (4-4, 1-3 ACC). Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. at BB&T Field and the game will be televised on RSN, with Wes Durham (play-by-play), James Bates (analyst) and Rebecca Kaple (sideline reporter) on the call.

Syracuse is coming off back-to-back home victories over North Carolina (40-37) and NC State (51-41). The 6-2 Orange are bowl-eligible for the first time since 2013, appearing in the Associated Press Top 25 (No. 22), Amway Coaches Poll (No. 24) and the College Football Playoff rankings (No. 19) this week.

Wake Forest picked up its first Atlantic Coast Conference win of the season last weekend, defeating Louisville 56-35 to even their overall record at 4-4.

SERIES HISTORY
Syracuse leads the all-time series with Wake Forest, 4-3. The Deacons, however, have claimed the last two pairings, including a 64-43 triumph at the Carrier Dome in 2017. Both teams have held serve for the most part at home. Wake Forest is 2-1 against the Orange at BB&T Field, while Syracuse is 3-1 in games played at the Carrier Dome.

The last time Syracuse traveled to Winston-Salem, the teams were forced to deal with the remnants of Hurricane Matthew. Playing through a steady downpour and high winds, Wake Forest won, 28-9. The two sides combined for 656 yards of offense, 699 less than they would generate a year later at the Dome.

IT'S A SMALL WORLD
Syracuse head coach Dino Babers and Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson's career paths closely aligned a few years ago. Babers succeeded Clawson at the helm of the Bowling Green football program from 2014-2015, taking over for Clawson, who coached the Falcons from 2009-13 before his departure for Wake Forest.

Orange safeties and nickelbacks coach Nick Monroe was a member of Clawson's staff from 2010 to 2013. Monroe coached the secondary and worked with current Wake Forest offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Wayne Ruggiero and running backs coach John Hunter.

Syracuse halfback Moe Neal (Gastonia) is the only active member of the Orange who calls North Carolina home, while Wake Forest wideout Ian Driscoll (Garden City) and offensive lineman Allan Rappleyea (Millbrook) hail from New York state.

At Bowling Green, Clawson coached Syracuse current graduate assistants Travis and Trent Greene.

SCOUTING THE DEMON DEACONS
Wake Forest snapped its two-game losing streak with a 56-35 win over Louisville last Saturday. The victory was the Demon Deacons' first conference win of the season.

Freshman quarterback Sam Hartman has been tasked with taking over for four-year starter John Wolford. Hartman's responded well, throwing for 1,709 yards and 14 TDs.

Alongside Hartman, are two dangerous offensive weapons in running back Matt Colburn II and wideout Greg Dortch. Colburn is seventh in the ACC in rushing at 75.4 yards per contest, and he's coming off a career day, running for 243 yards against the Cardinals.

Dortch has 60 receptions this season, 38 more than anyone else on the team, and nearly half of all Wake Forest's total catches. Dortch leads the ACC in catches per game (7.5). He's also one of the nation's most dangerous return men with two punt return TDs this in 2018.

Defensively, the Demon Deacons rank near the bottom of the FBS in total defense (124th), passing defense (118th) and scoring defense (116th). Linebacker Justin Strnad leads Wake Forest with 59 total tackles, including 5.5 for a loss.

UP NEXT
Syracuse puts its unbeaten Carrier Dome record on line Friday, Nov. 9, when the Orange take on Louisville in the final home game of the season. Kickoff is 7 p.m. on ESPN2.

Tickets to watch the Orange and Cardinals start at $35 and are available online (Cuse.com/tickets), by phone (888-DOME-TIX) and at the Carrier Dome Box Office (Gate B).

For complete coverage of Syracuse football, follow us on Twitter (@CuseFootball), Instagram (@CuseFootball) and like us on Facebook (Syracuse Football).

Preview: No. 22 Syracuse, Wake Forest Meet in Saturday Matinee

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Players Mentioned

Moe Neal

Syracuse University Athletics