Orange Look to Send Seniors Out Right

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – A collection of 22 senior players will suit up for the final time in the Dome when Syracuse (4-7, 1-6 ACC) hosts Wake Forest (8-3, 4-3 ACC) on Saturday, Nov. 30 to close out the season. Following the game, the group will briefly enter the locker room before returning to the field for the Senior Walk, a tradition head coach Dino Babers instituted in 2017. This year's outgoing class will take one last lap around the field to reflect on their time as Syracuse University student-athletes.

This season started with high expectations both inside and outside the program, Babers said during his Monday press conference. Though the record is not what it was in 2018 when the Orange won 10 games, there have been many lessons learned.

"The biggest thing our players can take away from this year is the adversity," Babers said. "You have to turn a negative into a positive. There were expectations from a lot of people, including a lot of people who were in this room on Sunday for the team meeting. Things didn't go our way. Now we need to take that and put it somewhere and remember how hard you have to work for something when you want it and that you can't wish, you have to make it happen. I think that's a message that's been learned by all the members on our team, and a lot of people in the community, as well."

This year's seniors are Babers' first full class to come through the program. Speaking on how much they've meant to him, Babers emphasized that they put their trust in his vision for the future of Orange football.

"I think about our word faith – belief without evidence," Babers said. "These guys came when there was no evidence, and they had tremendous faith in what we were going to get done here. They've had some good times and they've had some bad times, but I think they'll always be Orange and I don't think they'd have it any other way."

Looking at Wake Forest, Babers picked out how the Demon Deacons are consistently able to score points against their opponents. The Demon Deacons average 33 points a game, which is good for fourth in the ACC, and they're second in the league in total offense (464.5 ypg) behind only Clemson (543.1 ypg).

Standout receiver Sage Surratt, who racked up 1,001 yards and 11 touchdowns in just nine games, suffered a season-ending injury a couple of weeks ago. Quarterback Jamie Newman (23 TD passes) still has plenty of weapons to throw to, including Kendall Hinton (59 receptions, 865 yards). Hinton was voted the ACC Receiver of the Week on Monday after making six catches for 189 yards in Wake Forest's win over Duke last weekend.

Syracuse got a glimpse of Wake's explosiveness first-hand in 2017. The teams engaged in the highest-scoring game in Dome history, a 64-43 win for the Demon Deacons. Syracuse and Wake Forest combined for 1,355 yards of total offense and 66 first downs in the contest – both ACC records.

"Any time you have that kind of offense and you're able to score points, you're going to be in games even when you're not supposed to be in games," Babers said. "And even the games that they've lost, if you look at their point totals, they've been able to score points. They've done a nice job on offense."

Defensively, lineman Carlos Basham Jr. leads the ACC with 16.5 tackles for loss, including 10 sacks. Redshirt senior Amari Henderson is tied with Orange safety Andre Cisco and others for the conference lead with four interceptions. As a whole, the Demon Deacons have caused 20 opponent turnovers.

"They've done a nice job on defense getting turnovers and getting stops, but for the schools like us to be able to make moves like we did last year and they did this year, you're going to have to score a whole bunch of points if you're not going to get stops from your defense."

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

Syracuse University Athletics

Related News

Players Mentioned

Andre Cisco

Related Videos