Duke Blue Devils at Syracuse Orange Preview

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The Duke Blue Devils go on the road for the final time this season to face the Syracuse Orange, who are playing their final home game of the year. Duke is looking to keep its nose above the chaos of the ACC Coastal Division below it. They would appear to be in good shape in trying to do that against the Orange. Syracuse has lost their second quarterback and are down to third string redshirt freshman Austin Wilson handling the signal caller duties. A strange matchup indeed.

Date: November 8
Time: 12:30
TV: RSN
Venue: Carrier Dome (Syracuse, NY)

Last Time: 1939

The Iron Dukes were under the leadership of Wallace Wade the last time that they faced the Orange in football. They welcomed Syracuse to Durham and then proceeded to beat them 33-6. This was building up to the 1942 Duke team that went to the Rose Bowl.

Nov 1, 2014; Syracuse, NY, USA; Syracuse Orange head coach Scott Shafer on the sidelines during the third quarter of a game against the North Carolina State Wolfpack at the Carrier Dome. North Carolina State won the game 24-17. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

Opponent: Syracuse Orange (3-6)

Syracuse has occupied that middle ground in the ACC Atlantic division and now finds that it needs three straight wins with a third string quarterback in order to get into bowl contention. The Orange have used a formula that should be familiar to many ACC fans. That formula was have a lot of offense, don’t worry so much about defense.

One of the things that Syracuse liked to do was run the football with the quarterback. With both guys 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. That will give Duke something to focus on with the defense.

That will hopefully prevent receiver Jarrod West from getting on track like the 161 yards he had against NC State.

Nov 1, 2014; Syracuse, NY, USA; Syracuse Orange wide receiver Corey Cooper (6) tries to outrun North Carolina State Wolfpack safety Dravious Wright (8) during the second quarter of a game at the Carrier Dome. North Carolina State won the game 24-17. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

On offense, Duke needs to continue the balanced attack that it has been succeeding with all year. Keep the Syracuse defense guessing and all should be well. Given Duke’s track record so far, I have little fear that they will be able to do that.