Photo by: Charles Wainwright
Orange Extra: Kickers in the Spotlight
11/27/2019 10:30:00 AM | Football
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The 2019 edition of the Syracuse football team will be together for one more game when the Orange (4-7, 1-6 ACC) host Wake Forest (8-3, 4-3 ACC) on Saturday, Nov. 30 in the Dome.
A group of 22 senior players and one senior manager will be recognized prior to kickoff. 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.
MARQUEE MATCHUP: ANDRE SZMYTÂ VS. NICK SCIBA
Two of the most accurate kickers in the FBS ranks will be on display under the Dome roof Saturday. Syracuse's Andre Szmyt, the winner of the 2018 Lou Groza Award, faces off against Wake Forest record-setter Nick Sciba.
Szmyt has followed up his fantastic freshman year with another solid campaign. He is 13-of-16 this fall, including a perfect 9-of-9 mark on field goals inside of 40 yards. Two of his misfires didn't miss by much, hitting the upright. Szmyt has converted 36-of-37 point-after-touchdowns and leads the squad with 75 points.
Sciba holds the NCAA record for consecutive made field goals – a streak of 32 that dates back to the 2018 campaign. He kicked four field goals in last week's win versus Duke and is 21-of-21 this season. Sciba has converted all 41 of his PATs and has 104 points for the Demon Deacons.
Szmyt (9.4) and Sciba (8.8) rank No. 1 and No. 2 in points per game among active FBS players.Â
OUR "GUY"
Sophomore safety Andre Cisco logged an interception for the second game in a row last week at Louisville. The pick was the 11th of Cisco's career and his fourth this season. Only one active FBS player, Louisiana Tech's Amik Robertson (14), has more.
Despite playing in only eight games this year because of injury, Cisco is tied with Caleb Farley (Virginia Tech), Tanner Muse (Clemson) and Amari Henderson (Wake Forest) for the ACC lead in interceptions.
Cisco has played just 21 games in his Orange career. This fall he has accumulated 56 total tackles to go with his four interceptions.
"HELLO, NEWMAN"
Newman leads the conference in total offense with an average of 308.6 yards per game.
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OF NOTE
A group of 22 senior players and one senior manager will be recognized prior to kickoff. 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.
MARQUEE MATCHUP: ANDRE SZMYTÂ VS. NICK SCIBA
Two of the most accurate kickers in the FBS ranks will be on display under the Dome roof Saturday. Syracuse's Andre Szmyt, the winner of the 2018 Lou Groza Award, faces off against Wake Forest record-setter Nick Sciba.
Szmyt has followed up his fantastic freshman year with another solid campaign. He is 13-of-16 this fall, including a perfect 9-of-9 mark on field goals inside of 40 yards. Two of his misfires didn't miss by much, hitting the upright. Szmyt has converted 36-of-37 point-after-touchdowns and leads the squad with 75 points.
Sciba holds the NCAA record for consecutive made field goals – a streak of 32 that dates back to the 2018 campaign. He kicked four field goals in last week's win versus Duke and is 21-of-21 this season. Sciba has converted all 41 of his PATs and has 104 points for the Demon Deacons.
Szmyt (9.4) and Sciba (8.8) rank No. 1 and No. 2 in points per game among active FBS players.Â
OUR "GUY"
The Orange have their first Ray Guy Award finalist in redshirt senior Sterling Hofrichter. He was named one of the three finalists for the award on Monday, joining Kentucky's Max Duffy and Dane Roy from Houston.
The trio of punters will travel to the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta on Dec. 12 to participate in The Home Depot College Football Awards Show. The event will be televised on ESPN.
Hofrichter, a three-time team captain with the Orange, has averaged 43.7 yards per punt this season, just shy of the Syracuse record of 44.5 set by Sean Reali in 1996. He has been remarkably consistent in his collegiate career. One of his staggering statistics is a 36.6 percent rate of landing punts (265 career) inside the 20-yard line.
Hofrichter leads the ACC with 27 punts inside the 20 this fall. His 20 punts of 50+ yards puts him in a fifth-place tie among league punters. Hofrichter's kicking, combined with Syracuse's punt coverage unit, has the Orange ranked seventh nationally in punt return defense (1.7).
The Ray Guy Award is named after Oakland Raiders legend Ray Guy, the only pure punter in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
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DON'T COME AROUND HERE NO MOREThe trio of punters will travel to the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta on Dec. 12 to participate in The Home Depot College Football Awards Show. The event will be televised on ESPN.
Hofrichter, a three-time team captain with the Orange, has averaged 43.7 yards per punt this season, just shy of the Syracuse record of 44.5 set by Sean Reali in 1996. He has been remarkably consistent in his collegiate career. One of his staggering statistics is a 36.6 percent rate of landing punts (265 career) inside the 20-yard line.
Hofrichter leads the ACC with 27 punts inside the 20 this fall. His 20 punts of 50+ yards puts him in a fifth-place tie among league punters. Hofrichter's kicking, combined with Syracuse's punt coverage unit, has the Orange ranked seventh nationally in punt return defense (1.7).
The Ray Guy Award is named after Oakland Raiders legend Ray Guy, the only pure punter in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
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Sophomore safety Andre Cisco logged an interception for the second game in a row last week at Louisville. The pick was the 11th of Cisco's career and his fourth this season. Only one active FBS player, Louisiana Tech's Amik Robertson (14), has more.
Despite playing in only eight games this year because of injury, Cisco is tied with Caleb Farley (Virginia Tech), Tanner Muse (Clemson) and Amari Henderson (Wake Forest) for the ACC lead in interceptions.
Cisco has played just 21 games in his Orange career. This fall he has accumulated 56 total tackles to go with his four interceptions.
"HELLO, NEWMAN"
Wake Forest signal-caller Jamie Newman is another talented quarterback the Orange will be forced to defend. Newman has tossed a touchdown pass in 13 of his 14 career starts under center and has thrown for at least 200 yards in 12 of those outings.Newman established a school record by passing for 401 yards in the 2019 season opener against Utah State.
Newman leads the conference in total offense with an average of 308.6 yards per game.
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OF NOTE
- Syracuse and Wake Forest have met eight times on the gridiron since 2006. Each school has hosted four of the matchups to date and Syracuse owns a slim, 5-3 margin in the series.
- Tommy DeVito has gone 167 throws without an interception, the second-longest active streak among FBS players. Georgia Southern's Sai Werts has the top mark – a run of 216 straight attempts without being picked off.
- Syracuse coach Dino Babers followed Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson as the leader of the Bowling Green football program. Clawson called the shots from 2009-13 and Babers held the Falcon reins from 2014-15.
Players Mentioned
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