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The Syracuse Orange and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons are even-steven against one another since September of 2015 (3-3), but not for long. 'Cuse and the Demon Deacons will face off in an ACC battle at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at Carrier Dome. Wake Forest will be strutting in after a win while 'Cuse will be stumbling in from a defeat.
It was close but no cigar for 'Cuse as they fell 33-30 to the Florida State Seminoles last week. Despite the loss, 'Cuse got a solid performance out of QB Garrett Shrader, who passed for one TD and 150 yards on 23 attempts in addition to rushing for three TDs and 137 yards. Shrader put himself on the highlight reel with a 55-yard TD scramble in the second quarter. Shrader's sharp performance set his single-game rushing touchdown high for the season.
Speaking of close games: the Demon Deacons came out on top in a nail-biter against the Louisville Cardinals last week, sneaking past 37-34. Wake Forest QB Sam Hartman was slinging it as he passed for two TDs and 324 yards on 39 attempts in addition to rushing for one TD and 35 yards.
Special teams collected 13 points for Wake Forest. K Nick Sciba delivered a perfect 3-for-3 game.
The Orange are expected to lose this next one by 6. However, those who like betting on the underdog should be happy to hear that they are 2-0 against the spread when expected to lose.
'Cuse is now 3-2 while Wake Forest sits at 5-0. A couple numbers to keep in mind before kickoff: 'Cuse is 191st worst in the nation in passing yards per game, with only 171 on average. Wake Forest has experienced some struggles of their own as they are stumbling into the game with the 185th most passing yards allowed per game in the nation, having given up 252.8 on average. It's possible one of these Achilles' heels will wind up tripping the losing team up.
