The Syracuse Orange are 1-0 coming off of a decisive 47-0 thrashing of the Rhode Island Rams.
Wake Forest will look to move to 2-0 on the season as it travels to New York to take on the Syracuse Orange. Both teams enter the game at 1-0 after dominating victories over FCS opponents. The Deacs took care of the Elon Phoenix 41-3, while the Orange destroyed the Rhode Island Rams 47-0.
Kickoff is scheduled for 12:30 at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York.
Syracuse will be without senior quarterback Terrel Hunt, who is out for the year with a heel injury. In his place will be true freshman Eric Dungey. Wake Forest fans know all about young quarterbacks and the struggles they can endure, as sophomore John Wolford went through more than enough growing pains last year.
Wolford appears to be a year older, but many years wiser, as he easily dispatched a hapless Elon Phoenix to the tune of 20/27 for a career high 323 yards, and also a scintillating 70 yard touchdown run.
A night later in Syracuse, the Orange held Rhode Island to just four rushing yards in a superb effort by the front seven (and really the entire defense).
Albeit a ridiculously small sample size, Syracuse comes into the game with the nation's best defense, while Wake Forest sits at 6th. Should be a very defensive oriented game where special teams and limiting mistakes will be vital.
The Deacs are more than happy to play that game, as senior punter Alex Kinal comes off his career best night, and was subsequently awarded the Ray Guy Player of the Week Award. He punted 4 times for a 49.43 average, including a 70 yard bomb that he boomed over the poor returner's head.
We have already taken an extensive look this week at the Orange, including: Initial Thoughts, Q and A, and Players to Watch segments. I encourage you to check out all of those articles, as well as the Nunes Magician website to get ready for the game tomorrow!
All things considered I think this could be a turning point for Dave Clawson and staff. I don't have overly unrealistic expectations, but I think the Deacs are being discounted a bit, and a Clawson coached team won't stand for that. I'm taking the Deacs in a minor 20-17 upset over the Orange.
A win tomorrow would bring Wake Forest to 2-0 with impending games @ Army, before returning home to face Indiana for Homecoming. A 3-1 start would go a long way for not just bowl eligibility this season, but turning around a team that has struggled mightily for the past few seasons.
