Wake Forest Demon Deacons vs Syracuse Orange Preview

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons welcome the Syracuse Orange to Winston-Salem this Saturday. This is an Atlantic Division matchup between two teams with similar records at 2-4. Both are looking for a conference win. Both teams are 0-2 in ACC play with the losses against Florida State and Louisville. Wake played Louisville tougher and Syracuse played FSU tougher.

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Wake Forest needs to take the home field advantage that has been handed to them and run with it. They will again be relying on the defense to put a cap on what Syracuse can do with the football. Syracuse is a running team, so Wake’s 4-2-5 alignment will be at a slight disadvantage against that kind of attack.

Date: October 18

Time: 12:00 Noon

TV: RSN

Venue: BB&T Field

Last Time: 2013

Donovan McNabb was on hand as his jersey was retired the last time Wake and Syracuse faced off. It was a fairly forgettable game for Tanner Price, throwing for under 50% completion and an interception. The Syracuse defense shut down the Wake offense and got just enough offense of their own to get a 13-0 win in the Dome.

Oct 3, 2014; Syracuse, NY, USA; Syracuse Orange head coach Scott Shafer on the sidelines during the fourth quarter of a game against the Louisville Cardinals at the Carrier Dome. Louisville won the game 28-6. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

Opponent: Syracuse Orange (2-4)

A year later and what is different for the Orange? The quarterback will be different, as freshman AJ Long will likely start for injured senior Terrel Hunt. That poses a challenge and an opportunity to the Wake Forest defense. Long may throw a pick or two because of inexperience, but the Deacs won’t have much tape to go on.

One of the things that Hunt liked to do was run the football. He scored a rushing touchdown last year against Wake. With Hunt out, it will be interesting to see if Syracuse continues to run the ball with quarterback. Their other option will be handing the ball more to senior tailback Prince-Tyson Gulley. I will note that it is probably safer for freshman Long to run than it will be for him to throw.

Oct 3, 2014; Syracuse, NY, USA; Syracuse Orange running back Prince-Tyson Gulley (23) runs through a hole as Louisville Cardinals safety Gerod Holliman (8) and linebacker Keith Kelsey (55) attempt to tackle him during the second quarter of a game at the Carrier Dome. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

In the air, Wake should have the advantage between its experienced secondary members and the receivers of the Orange.

The defense of the Orange has been pretty average this year. Wake Forest will be looking to see what kind of down progression they can get set up with Dezmond Wortham. Most likely the game will come down to quarterback John Wolford and whether or not he can make plays.

Prediction:

I have been watching my prediction record slowly balance out over the course of the conference season. So I am picking the upset here. Wake is off a bye, Syracuse is wounded, and there is no obvious thing that would decide this game one way or the other. I think this is the week for Wake Forest to pick off a conference victory.

ONJ Season Prediction Record: 18-8