Orange Host Louisville in ACC Primetime Opener

SYRACUSE VS. LOUISVILLE
Game Details: 8 p.m. | Saturday, Sept. 3
Location: Syracuse, N.Y. | JMA Wireless Dome
Tickets: Get Tickets
Game Links: Watch | Listen | Live Stats
Game Program: Here
Television: ACCN
Radio: Syracuse Sports Network from Learfield
Twitter: @CuseFootball | @Cuse
Syracuse Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Notes
Louisville Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Notes

GAME INFORMATION
• The Quad opens at 5 p.m. and gates will open at 6 p.m.
• It's Youth Sports Day in the JMA Dome. Group tickets are available at Cuse.com/Groups at a discounted rate for youth groups.
• Season, individual game and partial plans are available at Cuse.com/Tickets

ORANGE OPEN 133RD GRIDIRON CAMPAIGN AGAINST LOUISVILLE
• Syracuse opens the season with a home game for the first time since 2017 when it hosts Louisville on Sept. 3. It marks the first home ACC season opener since the Orange joined the league in 2013.
• The game will air on ACC Network, with Syracuse grad Drew Carter '19 (PxP), Tim Hasselbeck (analyst) and Kelsey Riggs (reporter) on the call.
• The Orange start the season against an ACC opponent for the second time in three years. The 2020 campaign began at North Carolina.
• Syracuse is going for its eighth win in the last nine years in its season opener. It will be the fifth-straight year the Orange open with an FBS opponent.
• Head coach Dino Babers starts his seventh season on the sidelines for the Orange.

ORANGE IN SEASON OPENERS
• Syracuse holds an 85-43-4 record in season-opening contests.
• The team has won seven of its past eight season openers, defeating Ohio (2021), Liberty (2019), Western Michigan (2018), Central Connecticut State (2017), Colgate (2016), Rhode Island (2015) and Villanova (2014). The Orange lost at North Carolina in the 2020 opener.
• 'Cuse will open the season at home for the first time since 2017. The four-straight openers on the road from 2018-21 marked the just the second time that 'Cuse opened four-or-more straight seasons on the road. The other stretch was 1982-85.

ORANGE IN HOME OPENERS
• Syracuse is 92-34-4 in home openers – a record that excludes the 1979 season when the Orange played all their games on the road due to the construction of the Dome – and the 1889 season when Syracuse did not play a home game.
• Since the Dome opened in 1980, Syracuse is 23-19 in home starters.
• Syracuse has won seven of its last-nine home openers, including a 4-2 mark under Dino Babers.
• Saturday's game marks the third time in the last four years that Syracuse faces an ACC foe in its home opener. The Orange hosted Clemson in the 2019 Dome opener and Georgia Tech in 2020.

SERIES HISTORY
• Saturday's game will be the 21st all-time meeting between Syracuse and Louisville. Eighteen of those pairings have come as conference foes, first in The BIG EAST Conference and now in the ACC. The Cardinals lead the all-time series, 13-7.
• Louisville will make its first visit to the JMA Wireless Dome since 2018. Syracuse has traveled to the Bluegrass State in each of the past three seasons. Overall, four of the last five meetings between the two schools were played at Cardinal Stadium.
• The winning team in six of the last nine meetings has scored 40 or more points.
• Syracuse's only game outside of North America was played against Louisville in the 1989 Coca-Cola Bowl in Tokyo.

LAST TIME VS. LOUISVILLE
• Louisville found the end zone on each of its first four possessions and went on to record a 41-3 victory.
• It marked the only game in 2021 in which the Orange did not score a touchdown.
• RB Sean Tucker rushed for 95 yards on 19 carries as he surpassed 1,300 rushing yards in his record-breaking season.
• The Orange were without their defensive leader for the majority of the game as LB Mikel Jones was called for targeting with 10 minutes to go in the second quarter.
• QB Malik Cunningham completed 13-of-18 passes for 209 yards and four touchdowns for the Cardinals.

TUCKER IN RARE COMPANY
• RB Sean Tucker is the 24th player in program history to surpass 2,000 rushing yards in his career.
• Tucker has 2,122 rushing yards in 21 games.
• He currently ranks 20th on Syracuse's all-time rushing list and could climb quickly. He averaged 125 yards per game in 2021. 127 yards would move him to No. 13 on the career list on Saturday night.

#PL34SED WITH HIS PERFORMANCE
• RB Sean Tucker is one of the premier players in the nation and Syracuse Athletics unveiled his official Heisman Trophy campaign slogan and microsite in late July.
• Orange fans waited for Tucker to tweet his stat line and the team result in a matter-of-fact manner that has made him a viral sensation after his record-breaking performances. #PL34SED combines Tucker's number with his iconic catchphrase that he is "pleased with his performance" after all of his outstanding games.
• In addition to the hashtag, C use.com/PL34SED will serve as the official hub for all things Sean Tucker this season. The microsite features videos and information on Sean, as well as links to purchase Sean's officially licensed merchandise.
• Cuse.com/PL34SED will be updated throughout the season as he breaks more records and posts more pleasing performances in front of Orange Nation. The sophomore back is already on the Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Award and Doak Walker Award Watch Lists this preseason and has been named a preseason All-American by a host of publications.

STINGY ON DEFENSE
• Syracuse ranked 19th in the nation and second in the ACC in total defense in 2021. The Orange gave up 330.3 yards per game.
• It marked the Orange's best defensive performance since 2010 when it allowed just 301.5 yards per game.
• The Orange had not held their opponents to less than 400 yards per game since 2014.
• Syracuse held its opponents to less than 100 yards rushing five times in 12 games in 2021.
• The Orange held two opponents - Ohio and Boston College - without a touchdown.

SAME PLACE, NEW NAME
• Syracuse University and JMA Wireless (JMA) announced a 10-year partnership for naming rights of the University's iconic on-campus stadium in May 2022. For the first time since the venue opened its doors in 1980, the stadium will have a new name, only the second in its history—the JMA Wireless Dome, referred to as the JMA Dome.
• The two Central New York organizations, which together employ more than 6,500 people locally, also announced that Syracuse-based JMA will support the Dome's digital infrastructure transformation by establishing the most advanced connectivity offerings for fans and other users while at the Dome.
• In April, the University announced it would embark on the next phase of its work to enhance, elevate and expand the stadium experience. In addition to upgrading the entire digital infrastructure, the next phase of renovations includes a complete reseating of the entire venue and the construction of an on-site and publicly accessible event facility.
• The University previously announced that as part of the upcoming renovations, Syracuse University will take additional action to further spur economic activity in Central New York and support area residents and communities. These include donating the removed bench seating, introducing a local apprenticeship program and providing cost-free use of the facility for emergency services training.

ORANGE NAME TEAM CAPTAINS
• Syracuse announced seven team captains prior to the 2022 season.
• OL Matthew Bergeron, LS Aaron Bolinsky, RB Chris Elmore, LB Mikel Jones, QB Garrett Shrader, K Andre Szmyt and DB Garrett Williams were selected by their teammates as this season's captains.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Matthew Bergeron

Aaron Bolinsky

Chris Elmore

Mikel Jones

Garrett Shrader

Andre Szmyt

Sean Tucker

Garrett Williams

Syracuse University Athletics