Syracuse Prepares for First Test of 2020 Season
9/7/2020 2:01:00 PM | Football
The long-awaited start to the 2020 Syracuse football season is here. The Orange kickoff the fifth season under the direction of head coach Dino Babers at #18 North Carolina (0-0) on Saturday, September 12 at Noon. The game will air on the ACC Network.
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When the Orange and North Carolina meet for the sixth time in series history, each team will have had only four weeks to prepare for the opponent because of the Atlantic Coast Conference schedule revisions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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"It is a big challenge on both sides," Babers said at his weekly news conference on Monday morning. "This is one of those years where it's not that you are not looking at your first opponent, but you really need to look at what you are doing and to make sure that your guys have a grip on what you are doing. In a game like this is going to be difficult. The big thing is that our guys are excited about playing a football game and we are going to go down there and give it our best shot."
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Syracuse owns an 84-42-4 record in season-opening contests, including first-game wins in each of the past six seasons. This year marks the first time that 'Cuse has opened with an ACC opponent since joining the league in 2013. The last time the Orange played in Chapel Hill was the 2003 season-opener, which Syracuse won in triple overtime, 49-47. Syracuse also won the most recent game in the series in overtime, earning a 40-37 double OT victory in the Dome in 2018.
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Syracuse features 15 returning starters, including seven on offense, six on defense and two specialists. Redshirt senior Airon Servais is the most experienced Syracuse starter with 37 consecutive games with the first unit. Junior receiver Taj Harris (19) and junior defensive back Andre Cisco (19) are next. A native of Valley Stream, N.Y., Cisco is listed on multiple preseason national award watch lists and is the active leader in the FBS with 12 interceptions.
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Redshirt junior quarterback Tommy DeVito returns as the starting signal caller. His first significant action for the Orange was against North Carolina in 2018 when he entered the game to help lead a 'Cuse rally late in the fourth quarter. The Orange were down 27-20 and came back to win 40-37 in two overtimes thanks to a trio of DeVito touchdown passes. DeVito threw for 181 yards after entering the game with 5:07 remaining in regulation.
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North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell, the 2019 ACC Rookie of the Year, returns to lead the Tar Heel offense. He led the conference with 38 touchdown passes as a rookie. UNC's top returning wideouts - Dazz Newsome and Dyami Brown - had the third and fourth highest yards per game average among returning ACC receivers last season, while running back Michael Carter is one-of-four returning 1,000-yard rushers from a year ago in the ACC this season.
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When the Orange and North Carolina meet for the sixth time in series history, each team will have had only four weeks to prepare for the opponent because of the Atlantic Coast Conference schedule revisions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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"It is a big challenge on both sides," Babers said at his weekly news conference on Monday morning. "This is one of those years where it's not that you are not looking at your first opponent, but you really need to look at what you are doing and to make sure that your guys have a grip on what you are doing. In a game like this is going to be difficult. The big thing is that our guys are excited about playing a football game and we are going to go down there and give it our best shot."
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Syracuse owns an 84-42-4 record in season-opening contests, including first-game wins in each of the past six seasons. This year marks the first time that 'Cuse has opened with an ACC opponent since joining the league in 2013. The last time the Orange played in Chapel Hill was the 2003 season-opener, which Syracuse won in triple overtime, 49-47. Syracuse also won the most recent game in the series in overtime, earning a 40-37 double OT victory in the Dome in 2018.
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Syracuse features 15 returning starters, including seven on offense, six on defense and two specialists. Redshirt senior Airon Servais is the most experienced Syracuse starter with 37 consecutive games with the first unit. Junior receiver Taj Harris (19) and junior defensive back Andre Cisco (19) are next. A native of Valley Stream, N.Y., Cisco is listed on multiple preseason national award watch lists and is the active leader in the FBS with 12 interceptions.
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Redshirt junior quarterback Tommy DeVito returns as the starting signal caller. His first significant action for the Orange was against North Carolina in 2018 when he entered the game to help lead a 'Cuse rally late in the fourth quarter. The Orange were down 27-20 and came back to win 40-37 in two overtimes thanks to a trio of DeVito touchdown passes. DeVito threw for 181 yards after entering the game with 5:07 remaining in regulation.
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North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell, the 2019 ACC Rookie of the Year, returns to lead the Tar Heel offense. He led the conference with 38 touchdown passes as a rookie. UNC's top returning wideouts - Dazz Newsome and Dyami Brown - had the third and fourth highest yards per game average among returning ACC receivers last season, while running back Michael Carter is one-of-four returning 1,000-yard rushers from a year ago in the ACC this season.
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