Holy Cross (1-3) at Syracuse (2-1), Saturday, 12 p.m. ET (ACC Extra/ESPN+)
BetMGM College Football Odds: Syracuse by 28 1/2.
Series record: Syracuse leads 24-5.
What’s at stake?
With the meat of its schedule approaching, Syracuse needs to shake off last week’s disheartening, last-second home loss against Stanford. Anything less than a dominating effort against the FCS Crusaders will be cause for concern. Holy Cross will try to keep things reasonably close and hope for a moral victory before moving into Patriot League play.
Key matchup
Holy Cross may be able to keep it close for a half if the Crusaders’ running game can make some plays against Syracuse’s inconsistent rushing defense, which is 104th in the nation. Syracuse’s offensive line versus the Crusaders front will be one to watch. Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord was sacked four times against Stanford, and the running game managed just 26 yards. The Orange must show improvement in protecting their quarterback and opening up holes to gear up to face much tougher competition starting with UNLV on Oct. 4.
Players to watch
Holy Cross: Linebacker Frankie Monte had a career-best 17 tackles, including 10 solo tackles, and a quarterback hurry against Yale. He can’t do it alone but it will be interesting to see if he and his defensive crew can wreak some havoc to disrupt the Orange running game.
Syracuse: Tight end Oronde Gadsden II was double covered during most of the Stanford outing, and had just two receptions for 12 yards. This is what the pre-season All-ACC selection can expect to see the rest of the way. How the Orange work him into the offense will be key, starting with the Crusaders.
Facts & figures
The Crusaders have forced 10 fumbles, recovered six and have two interceptions. … Syracuse is 21-0 against FCS teams. … McCord is just the third Syracuse quarterback to throw for 300 yards in three straight games. … He’s third in the nation and second in the ACC in passing yards per game. … Syracuse is fourth in the nation in passing offense and 117th in rushing offense. … In closing an opening schedule with four straight home games, the Orange hit the road for three straight outings before returning home to host Virginia Tech on Nov. 2. … Monte earned Patriot League defensive player of the week honors. … The Crusaders’ three losses have been decided by a combined 11 points following a 38-31 loss to Yale last weekend. Their lone win was a 43-22 decision over Bryant two weeks ago.
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