Orange at Minnesota on Saturday

Syracuse (1-2) at Minnesota (3-0)
Date & Time	Saturday, Sept. 22 \| 8 p.m. (Eastern)
Location	Minneapolis, Minn. \| TCF Bank Stadium (55,805)
Tickets	Gophersports.com
Television	Big Ten Network
Radio	Syracuse IMG Sports Network/ WTKW 99.5/ ESPN 97.7
Game notes	Syracuse \| Minnesota
Live Audio	SUathletics.com (Orange All Access)
Live Stats	Gophersports.com
Social Media	Facebook \| @Cuse \| #OrangeNation

The Syracuse football team (1-2) heads to TCF Bank Stadium to face Minnesota (3-0), Saturday, Sept. 22nd, at 8 p.m. (Eastern) for its first road game of the season. The matchup against the Big Ten's Golden Gophers can be seen on the Big Ten Network. SU earned its first win of 2012 against Stony Brook, 28-17, last Saturday while the Gophers remained undefeated after a 28-23 win against Western Michigan.

Syracuse vs. Minnesota
The Orange and Gophers meet for the fourth time this Saturday. Minnesota holds an edge on the series, 2-1, which includes a 23-20 overtime win against Syracuse in head coach Doug Marrone's coaching debut with the Orange on Sept. 5, 2009. Syracuse won the first meeting between the two, 27-17, at Minnesota in 1995.

This will be Coach Marrone's fifth game against a Big Ten opponent. He holds a 1-3 record against the Big Ten. The Orange opened up the 2012 season at home against Northwestern and suffered a narrow loss, 42-41, to the Wildcats. The last time that SU has won a Big Ten game on the road was on Sept. 16, 2006 at Illinois, 31-21.

OrangeNation
When discussing the Minnesota game and all SU football games this season on Twitter, fans are encouraged to include the hashtag #OrangeNation. Make sure to follow Syracuse on Twitter: @Cuse, Facebook: Syracuse Orange, and instagram: syracuseathletics.

Nassib's Stellar Streak
Senior quarterback Ryan Nassib is the first signal caller in Orange history to throw for at least 300 yards in three straight games, achieving the feat versus Northwestern, USC and Stony Brook to begin the 2012 season. In addition to Nassib this year, Marvin Graves (1993) is the only SU quarterback to record three 300-yard passing games in the same season.

Nassib is also a candidate for the Davey O'Brien award so fans should make sure to vote for him by clicking here.

Breaking Down the Numbers : Offense Analysis
• 262: The number of plays the SU offense has run so far this season
• 147: The number of pass plays
• 115: The number of running plays
• 460: The number of yards generated by the run game, which includes four touchdowns
• 4.0: The average number of yards per carry
• 1,139: The number of yards the aerial attack has totaled, which includes nine touchdowns
• 11.7: The average number of yards per completion
• 1,600: The total yards of offense (533.3 yards per game) the Syracuse offense has generated in its first three games

Lighting in up in the BIG EAST
The Orange leads the BIG EAST in three separate categories: passing offense (379.7 ypg), total offense (53303 ypg) and first downs (29.0 per game). Nationally, Syracuse is third in the NCAA in passing offense, 11th in first downs and ranks 15th in total offense. The only two teams with more productive passing attacks than SU are Marshall (425.0 ypg) and West Virginia (386 ypg).

Offensive Line Stands Tall
Syracuse is tied for 23rd nationally in sacks allowed per game (1.0). Against Stony Brook, the front five didn't yield a sack. The group has paved the way for a rushing attack that is averaging 153.7 yards per game and racked up a season-best 241 yards on the ground versus Stony Brook.

The line features two new fresh faces on the right side with guard Ivan Foy and tackle Lou Alexander. Center Macky Macpherson and right guard Zack Chibane are the stalwarts. Chibane has started the last 28 games and MacPherson has started the last 15.

Air Defense
Syracuse is second in the BIG EAST and 18th in the NCAA, in pass defense (164.7 ypg). No opponent has thrown for 225 yards against the Orange this season. SU held Stony Brook to just 94 yards passing and picked of quarterback Kyle Essington twice. The last time Syracuse held a team to less than 100 yards through the air was in 2010 versus Connecticut (98 yards).

Looking Ahead
SU will have a bye weekend on Sept. 29th and return home on Friday Oct. 5th to open up BIG EAST play against Pittsburgh (7 p.m., ESPN). Tickets are available online, in person at the Carrier Dome Box Office (Gate B), or by calling 1-888-DOMETIX.

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