Syracuse (2-3, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) heads on the road to face Wake Forest (4-1, 1-1 Atlantic Coast) at 7 p.m. on Saturday at BB&T Field in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. SU is recovering from a 50-33 loss to Notre Dame at MetLife Stadium and the Demon Deacons are coming off their first loss of the season. Despite only winning three games in each of the last two years, WFU won its first four games of 2016.

Here’s what you need to know about Wake Forest.

All-time series: Syracuse leads, 4-1. The Orange has won the last four meetings.

Last time they played: SU came back to beat the Demon Deacons, 31-17, in the Carrier Dome in Eric Dungey’s first career start. Dungey completed 8-of-13 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns. The then-freshman signal-caller went 4-of-6 for 186 yards and two touchdowns in the second half. Syracuse’s defense snagged three interceptions and held Wake Forest scoreless in the final 30 minutes.

 

The Wake Forest report: WFU started off its season 4-0, beating Tulane, Duke Delaware and Indiana. Most recently, the Demon Deacons lost to North Carolina State, 33-16, on the road.

Starting quarterback Kendall Hinton is still recovering from a knee injury so the Orange is going to see John Wolford at quarterback again. Wolford threw for 373 on 43 attempts against SU last season. Starting freshman running back Cade Carney missed WFU’s last three games also with a knee injury, but Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson said he hopes Carney will play against SU. The last time Carney played, he gouged Duke for 108 yards and three touchdowns.

WFU runs the ball for about as many yards as it throws it each game, but scores most of its touchdowns on the ground with a 10-to-3 rushing-to-passing touchdown ratio. Running back Matt Colburn will likely shoulder most of the load.

Defensively, the Demon Deacons are led by Duke Ejiofor, who has the ninth-most sacks per game in the country (1.1) and eighth-most tackles for loss per game (1.8).  Wake Forest’s defensive weakness comes in the passing game where it ranks near the bottom of the ACC in yards allowed and in the bottom half of the country in passing efficiency defense.

How Syracuse beats Wake Forest: If the weather cooperates enough. It won’t have to be a clear night, but heavy rain and wind will not equal success for Syracuse. There’s only so much Eric Dungey can do to “grip it and rip it” through a hurricane passing along the coast. A low-scoring game favors Wake Forest, considering Syracuse’s struggles to run the ball this season and Wake Forest’s relative success.

Chase Guttman | Staff Photographer

Stat to know: 64.7

Wake Forest boasts a red zone defense that has held its opponents to under a 65 percent success rate. That ranks ninth in the country and is the only statistical category in which the team is slotted in the top 10 in the nation.

Player to watch: Cade Carney, running back

Cade Carney was named the starting running back prior to the season as a true freshman. Though he only got seven carries for 21 yards in the season opener, he ripped up Duke in his second career game, including a 55-yard touchdown run. Syracuse doesn’t have the best rush defense and the weather could force this game to stay on the ground. If Carney is healthy, he’ll be key in Wake Forest’s attempts to dominate the running game.

Published on October 7, 2016 at 3:19 pm

Contact Jon: jrmettus@syr.edu | @jmettus