'Cuse Road Swing Starts Friday

Syracuse will travel more than 3,000 miles in October as it will be on the road for three-straight games starting Friday at UNLV. It marks the second-straight year that the Orange will not have a home game in October after starting the season with four-consecutive home games.

'Cuse will play on Friday night for the second time this season. The Orange are no strangers to weekday games and the contest against UNLV marks the sixth time Syracuse has played under the lights on Friday night in the past four years. While it does slightly change the preparation for the Orange, head coach Fran Brown and his team are excited for the opportunity ahead.

"Everything moves a day forward," Brown said of how his team will handle one less day of preparation for the Rebels. "We get to travel. We get the opportunity to go on the road, you know, we played at home for four weeks straight. Most people don't have the chance to do that. And now we get to go on the road. We get to go represent Syracuse, and on a Friday night and Las Vegas. So, it's pretty cool to be able to go there. We're excited. It's the same thing, everything just moves up a day forward, but we're excited. We're ready to go compete, you know it's gonna be a good matchup. They've got a real good football team."

The Orange will face a 4-0 UNLV team that is coming off an impressive 59-14 victory against Fresno State. Quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams made his first career start at the FBS level in the win against Fresno State. He completed 13-of-16 passes for 182 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for 119 yards and another score. The Rebels are one of 19 unbeaten teams remaining in the FBS.

"He's really athletic, he's fun to watch. I just like watching him" Brown said. "He's a good player, it's like a better version of how I was in high school... It's pretty fun to watch him do that."

'Cuse quarterback Kyle McCord had a pretty good day last Saturday as well. He established career single-game highs for pass attempts (50) and yards (385) in the win against Holy Cross. In addition, his four touchdown passes matched his career best. With his performance, McCord became the first 'Cuse quarterback to throw for 300 yards in four-straight games.

The Orange offense also found success on the ground against the Crusaders. LeQuint Allen Jr. rushed 16 times for 81 yards as Syracuse finished the day with 125 yards. Allen continued to show his versatility as he recorded a career-high seven catches for 54 yards.

Syracuse will face a defense that is allowing just 13.8 points per game. UNLV has been especially effective against the run. The Rebels rank 14th in the nation in rushing defense, allowing 83.5 yards per game.

Friday's game will be the first of two games for the Orange in the Pacific time zone and the first of two games played in an NFL stadium tis season. Syracuse is looking for its second win against a ranked opponent this season. It would mark the first time the Orange defeated two ranked foes in the regular season since 2001.

Syracuse University Athletics

Players Mentioned

LeQuint Allen

Kyle McCord

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