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Syracuse Orange at NC State Wolfpack

Nov 14, 202611:00 AM CTACC NetworkRaleigh, NC
By JR·2 min read
Syracuse(4-5)
NC State(4-5)
11:00 AM

TLDR: Both of these teams lost their last game, and the losses looked very different. Syracuse lost a close one with no touchdowns, and NC State got run out of its own building by Duke. One of them leaves Carter-Finley on Saturday, November 14, with their bowl hopes still alive.

SAT 11/14, 11:00 AM CT · Week 11ACC Network
Syracuse
(4-5)
LWWLL
NC State
(4-5)
LWLLW
Kickoff 51°10 mph

Syracuse (4-5) visits NC State (4-4) after both teams lost their last game. The Orange lost 18-13 to Clemson with 2 turnovers, and the Wolfpack lost 41-3 at home to Duke. Syracuse has played one-score games all month, while NC State's results have swung from comfortable wins to home blowouts. The game likely comes down to whether NC State's run defense recovers and whether Angeli stops giving the ball away. No betting lines are posted yet.

Syracuse Orange
  • Every one of their last 5 games was within 8 points
  • Already won ACC road games at North Carolina and Virginia was close
  • Defense kept Clemson out of the end zone
  • Angeli 18-of-40 with 2 turnovers vs Clemson
  • Red-zone offense produced 0 touchdowns last time out
  • 2-5 in the ACC
NC State Wolfpack
  • Beat Louisville and Cal at home this fall
  • Had a bye in mid-October, more rested than Syracuse
  • Allowed 217 rushing yards to 1 Duke back
  • Held to 3 points and 217 total yards at home
  • Two home blowout losses in the last 5

Start at quarterback, because that's where both teams fell apart. Steve Angeli went 18-of-40 for 263 yards against Clemson and turned it over twice. In a game decided by 5 points, those turnovers were the difference. Clemson and Syracuse combined for 0 touchdowns and 7 field goal attempts. The Orange defense did enough to win, and the offense couldn't finish drives.

NC State's problem was bigger. CJ Bailey and the Wolfpack offense managed 3 points against Duke at home. Duke's Nate Sheppard ran for 217 yards and 3 touchdowns, which matched NC State's total yardage for the whole afternoon. Duke also returned a missed field goal 100 yards for a touchdown to end the half. It's the second time this month NC State has been blown out at home, after Wake Forest beat them 38-14.

Syracuse's season has been nothing but close games. Each of the last 5 was decided by 8 points or fewer: a 3-point loss at Virginia, an 8-point loss to Louisville, a 1-point win at North Carolina, a 3-point win over SMU and the 5-point loss to Clemson. NC State's games swing much harder. The Wolfpack beat Louisville by 3 and Cal by 21, then lost to Wake and Duke by a combined 62.

Syracuse Orange
(4-5)
11/07LvsClemson13-18
10/31Wvs25SMU30-27
10/24W@North Carolina31-30
10/17LvsLouisville26-34
10/10L@Virginia25-28
NC State Wolfpack
(4-5)
11/07LvsDuke3-41
10/31WvsCalifornia31-10
10/24L@Stanford28-31
10/10Lvs11Wake Forest14-38
10/03WvsLouisville31-28

The stakes are simple. At 4-5, Syracuse needs 2 more wins to reach bowl eligibility, and a third straight ACC road win in Raleigh would keep that alive. NC State is 4-4, so it has more room on paper. But a home crowd that just watched a 41-3 loss to its biggest rival will want to see an offense that can move the ball. The Wolfpack still beat Louisville at home, so the team can show up. The question is which version takes the field.

The early forecast for Raleigh is 43 degrees, cloudy and about 16 mph of wind. It's a week out and will change, but a cold, windy late-November game wouldn't help either quarterback. After what the Orange kicking game went through against Clemson, field goals in the wind could matter too. Whoever protects the ball better probably wins, and neither offense has done that lately.

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