FSU at Syracuse: Gameday Primer

No. 17 Florida State will again be big favorites this week as it heads to upstate New York to take on the 4-6 Syracuse Orange. FSU will be looking to run its record to 8-3 and its win streak to three in the final ACC contest of the year for the Seminoles. FSU hammered Boston College 45-7 last Friday while Syracuse looks to end a 2-game skid after falling at home to N.C. State, 35-20. The teams play at 3:30 p.m. EST on ABC.

With quarterback Eric Dungey likely out, the Orange will have to find a way to get points with either Zack Mahoney or Austin Wilson at the helm. The good news is that at wide receiver, the Orange are very good with a deep corps that mixes size and speed, headlined by senior Amba Etta-Tawo, who leads the ACC with 79 catches for nearly 1,250 yards receiving. Linebackers Parris Bennett and Zaire Franklin are among the nation’s top 25 tacklers for Syracuse, but as a whole, the Orange have largely been dreadful on defense.

For FSU, the story entering the contest is junior running back Dalvin Cook’s quest to break the school’s all-time rushing record. Against a Syracuse defense that has struggled to get stops, Cook needs just 19 yards to stand alone atop the FSU record books. Quarterback Deondre Francois will look to build on a 3-touchdown performance against Boston College. Defensively, DeMarcus Walker leads the team with 11 sacks while cornerback Tarvarus McFadden leads the country with seven interceptions. The Seminoles have yielded fewer than 18 points per game over their last five.

Quick Hits

• A win over Syracuse would give FSU a third consecutive victory. The Seminoles have not won three in a row all season. The last time FSU failed to have a winning streak of at least three in any given year was 2009.
• With a victory, FSU would finish ACC play 5-3 and avoid its worst season in conference since 2009 when it went 4-4.
• The Seminoles are 3-0 against the Orange since Syracuse joined the ACC in 2013. The closest meeting between the teams was the only previous one in the Carrier Dome. FSU won that 2014 contest by a score of 38-20. FSU’s average margin of victory over the Orange is nearly 33 points.
• A win on Saturday would give Syracuse multiple wins over ranked teams in the same season for the first time since 2001. The Orange beat No. 17 Virginia Tech earlier this season.
• The Seminoles are 5-1 in ACC finales under head coach Jimbo Fisher. The lone loss came at to Virginia in 2011, 14-13.

Good Times, Bad Times

All-Times Series: Florida State leads 8-1.
Good Times: Florida State’s first win in the series came in the Carrier Dome in 1978, which also happens to be the only shutout in the series as FSU won 28-0. Behind a short touchdown run from quarterback Jimmy Jordan, the Seminoles took a 7-0 lead into the final quarter before exploding with three touchdowns. Jordan and Wally Woodham each threw touchdown passes in the final period before Gator Cherry put the exclamation point on the win with a 9-yard touchdown run.

The only contest between top 10 teams in the series came in 1991 in Tallahassee and the top-ranked Seminoles routed No. 10 Syracuse, 46-14. Thanks to three touchdown passes by FSU quarterback Casey Weldon and two touchdowns from Edgar Bennett, the Seminoles scored the game’s final 39 points in the rout. Marvin Jones led the FSU defense with nine tackles and two sacks.

The closest game in the series — in fact, the only one decided by fewer than 16 points — came in the Carrier Dome in 2004. In the first career road start for FSU quarterback Wyatt Sexton, the Seminoles fell behind 10-3 early. That’s when Leon Washington erupted with a touchdown run of 21 yards late in the third quarter and another of 45 yards early in the fourth to put FSU up 17-10. The Orange added a field goal and threatened to win the game late when linebacker Sam McGrew intercepted Syracuse’s Perry Patterson in the end zone with five seconds remaining to seal a 17-13 win.

Bad Times: The only Syracuse victory in the series came in the first meeting back in 1966. All-American Floyd Little scored three 24-yard touchdowns as the Orangemen raced to an early 20-0 lead. Future NFL Hall of Fame fullback Larry Csonka added a touchdown of his own as Syracuse rolled 37-21 at home. Billy Cox finished with 100 yards receiving to lead the Seminoles.

For Your Reading Pleasure

Here are what we’ve written for you leading up to Saturday’s contest with Syracuse:

FSU Football: A First Look at Syracuse
Preview: FSU Takes Over Empire State for Game With Syracuse
Staff Predictions for FSU-Syracuse
FSU-Syracuse: Five Things to Watch
FSU’s Top 5 Individual Performances vs. Syracuse

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson