Orange Ready to Hit the Road
10/2/2023 3:51:00 PM | Football
Opportunity awaits Syracuse when it faces its first ranked opponent of the season on Saturday in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The Orange take on No. 14 North Carolina at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN.
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"Excited to play North Carolina," 'Cuse head coach Dino Babers said at his weekly press conference. "We're playing our first ranked team of the year. We understand that Coach Brown has a great crew up there. It's going to be a hostile environment. We're disappointed about the loss, obviously, last week. It was a difficult one. But we're going to learn, we're going to grow from it, we're going to move on. Having the team in here, basically yesterday, we have to put this one to bed and move forward because we still have a heck of an opportunity in front of us."
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Syracuse is embarking on a 34-day stretch without a game played in the JMA Dome. The stretch is the third-longest in college football this season, trailing Coastal Carolina (37) and Arkansas (35). The last time the Orange did not have a home game in the month of October was in 2008, when two byes and two road games accounted for the stretch.
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"We're going to have to adjust and improvise," Babers said. "Obviously, some people would say that's an extreme negative, but think about all the home games we had in a row that's an extreme positive. We're 4-1 and we're almost halfway done with the season. We're not perfect, we almost are. Now we've got to go on the road and play some really challenging games against some really highly-ranked teams with some fantastic athletes. It's going to be challenging."
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One of those challenges will be going against North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye. He earned the Shaun Alexander and FWAA Freshman of the Year Awards in 2022. He was also the ACC Player and Rookie of the Year. He leads the ACC and ranks 11th in the nation in passing yards per game (296.8).
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"This will be the best quarterback we've played this year," Babers said. "Obviously, the guy last Saturday (Cade Klubnik) played extremely well. This guy is different. He's going to be an NFL guy. He's what makes that team go on offense. He gets his playmakers the ball in situations where they can make plays and that's the reason why they're an explosive team. They score a lot of points."
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Syracuse quarterback Garrett Shrader has been a key to the Orange offense's success this season. He passed for two touchdowns against Clemson, increasing his Syracuse total to 34 and giving him sole possession of sixth place on the school career record list.
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"Their games are similar," Babers said of the pair. "They're both mobile, they both can throw and run. They both can sit in the pocket and take shots. I think they both have opportunities for NFL careers if they both stay healthy."
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The all-time series between Syracuse and North Carolina is tied at 3-3. The squads last met in the season opener in 2020. No fans were allowed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, meaning the Orange have not played in front of fans at Kenan Stadium since 2003, a game Syracuse won, 49-47 in triple overtime.
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"Excited to play North Carolina," 'Cuse head coach Dino Babers said at his weekly press conference. "We're playing our first ranked team of the year. We understand that Coach Brown has a great crew up there. It's going to be a hostile environment. We're disappointed about the loss, obviously, last week. It was a difficult one. But we're going to learn, we're going to grow from it, we're going to move on. Having the team in here, basically yesterday, we have to put this one to bed and move forward because we still have a heck of an opportunity in front of us."
Â
Syracuse is embarking on a 34-day stretch without a game played in the JMA Dome. The stretch is the third-longest in college football this season, trailing Coastal Carolina (37) and Arkansas (35). The last time the Orange did not have a home game in the month of October was in 2008, when two byes and two road games accounted for the stretch.
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"We're going to have to adjust and improvise," Babers said. "Obviously, some people would say that's an extreme negative, but think about all the home games we had in a row that's an extreme positive. We're 4-1 and we're almost halfway done with the season. We're not perfect, we almost are. Now we've got to go on the road and play some really challenging games against some really highly-ranked teams with some fantastic athletes. It's going to be challenging."
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One of those challenges will be going against North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye. He earned the Shaun Alexander and FWAA Freshman of the Year Awards in 2022. He was also the ACC Player and Rookie of the Year. He leads the ACC and ranks 11th in the nation in passing yards per game (296.8).
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"This will be the best quarterback we've played this year," Babers said. "Obviously, the guy last Saturday (Cade Klubnik) played extremely well. This guy is different. He's going to be an NFL guy. He's what makes that team go on offense. He gets his playmakers the ball in situations where they can make plays and that's the reason why they're an explosive team. They score a lot of points."
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Syracuse quarterback Garrett Shrader has been a key to the Orange offense's success this season. He passed for two touchdowns against Clemson, increasing his Syracuse total to 34 and giving him sole possession of sixth place on the school career record list.
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"Their games are similar," Babers said of the pair. "They're both mobile, they both can throw and run. They both can sit in the pocket and take shots. I think they both have opportunities for NFL careers if they both stay healthy."
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The all-time series between Syracuse and North Carolina is tied at 3-3. The squads last met in the season opener in 2020. No fans were allowed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, meaning the Orange have not played in front of fans at Kenan Stadium since 2003, a game Syracuse won, 49-47 in triple overtime.
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