Orange Set to Open 2021 Season Saturday
8/30/2021 1:37:00 PM | Football
A new season is officially upon us Saturday, when Syracuse opens the 2021 campaign with a road contest at Ohio on Saturday, Sept. 4 at 7 p.m. The contest from Peden Stadium will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
"It's a brand new slate," said head coach Dino Babers. "You get to start painting the portrait, so to speak, on how it's going to look when it's all said and done. [It's a] difficult opponent - more difficult than you would mostly likely want. But we're going to go down there and give it our best and see how we do."
It's a different feel for Syracuse heading into this year's season opener as it returns 10 starters on both sides of the ball from the 2020 squad that was one of the youngest in all of the FBS. More than 71 percent of the Orange's 2020 active roster was comprised of players in their first two years of eligibility, a mark that ranked fourth in the FBS. That experience should help combat any first-game nerves.
"I think the young guys are going to be nervous, guys who haven't played, they are going to be nervous," Babers said. "You can't get around it. But then there are guys who have played a lot of football and, talking to both coordinators, you really want to start the game with guys that have played. You don't want to hand the ball to somebody who hasn't had a handoff before. But if you start with the guys that have been around, I think that normally gives you a starting point that you want. Everybody has to take their first hit. Everybody has to have their first ball thrown at them. That's just football. I don't think we have as many guys as we had last year in that situation, but we have some guys."
The Orange are 84-43-4 all-time in season-opening contests, which includes a 7-3 mark in the last 10 years. Syracuse is 4-1 in the first game of the year under the direction of Babers.
'Cuse faces a team from the Mid-American Conference to christen a new season for the second time in four years. The Orange posted a 55-42 victory at Western Michigan in the first game of the 2018 season. This marks the fourth-straight year that Syracuse opens up on the road.
Tickets for the 2021 season are on sale now. Visit cuse.com/tickets or call 888-DOME-TIX to purchase. Fans can now purchase season tickets, partial plans and individual game tickets, however the best value for 'Cuse fans to watch the Orange this season remains purchasing a season ticket.
For less than $20 per game, fans can get access to every game of a home slate that features Clemson and Liberty – both of which finished in the top-20 of the 2020 AP Poll – matchups with longtime rivals Boston College and Pitt, an old-BIG EAST reunion against Rutgers, Wake Forest and an in-state showdown with UAlbany. This is the first time Syracuse has hosted seven home games since the 2017 season.
"It's a brand new slate," said head coach Dino Babers. "You get to start painting the portrait, so to speak, on how it's going to look when it's all said and done. [It's a] difficult opponent - more difficult than you would mostly likely want. But we're going to go down there and give it our best and see how we do."
It's a different feel for Syracuse heading into this year's season opener as it returns 10 starters on both sides of the ball from the 2020 squad that was one of the youngest in all of the FBS. More than 71 percent of the Orange's 2020 active roster was comprised of players in their first two years of eligibility, a mark that ranked fourth in the FBS. That experience should help combat any first-game nerves.
"I think the young guys are going to be nervous, guys who haven't played, they are going to be nervous," Babers said. "You can't get around it. But then there are guys who have played a lot of football and, talking to both coordinators, you really want to start the game with guys that have played. You don't want to hand the ball to somebody who hasn't had a handoff before. But if you start with the guys that have been around, I think that normally gives you a starting point that you want. Everybody has to take their first hit. Everybody has to have their first ball thrown at them. That's just football. I don't think we have as many guys as we had last year in that situation, but we have some guys."
The Orange are 84-43-4 all-time in season-opening contests, which includes a 7-3 mark in the last 10 years. Syracuse is 4-1 in the first game of the year under the direction of Babers.
'Cuse faces a team from the Mid-American Conference to christen a new season for the second time in four years. The Orange posted a 55-42 victory at Western Michigan in the first game of the 2018 season. This marks the fourth-straight year that Syracuse opens up on the road.
Tickets for the 2021 season are on sale now. Visit cuse.com/tickets or call 888-DOME-TIX to purchase. Fans can now purchase season tickets, partial plans and individual game tickets, however the best value for 'Cuse fans to watch the Orange this season remains purchasing a season ticket.
For less than $20 per game, fans can get access to every game of a home slate that features Clemson and Liberty – both of which finished in the top-20 of the 2020 AP Poll – matchups with longtime rivals Boston College and Pitt, an old-BIG EAST reunion against Rutgers, Wake Forest and an in-state showdown with UAlbany. This is the first time Syracuse has hosted seven home games since the 2017 season.
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