Preview: Syracuse at Miami

Syracuse (4-3, 2-1 ACC) vs. No. 8 Miami (5-0, 3-0 ACC)
Game Details: Saturday, Oct. 21 | 3:30 p.m.
Location: Hard Rock Stadium | Miami Gardens, Fla.
Game Links: Tickets | Listen | Watch | Live Stats
Television: ESPN
Radio: Syracuse IMG Radio Network
Twitter: @CuseFootball | @Cuse
Syracuse Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Stats | Notes
Miami Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Stats | Notes

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Syracuse (4-3, 2-1 ACC) seeks its second straight top-10 victory when it travels to No. 8 Miami (5-0, 3-0 ACC) on Saturday, Oct. 21. Kickoff is slated for 3:30 p.m. at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. The game will be televised on ESPN with Bob Wischusen (play-by-play), Brock Huard (analyst) and Allison Williams (sideline) on the call.

In their last outing, the Orange shocked second-ranked Clemson, the defending national champion, 27-24. It marked the second-highest ranked opponent Syracuse has defeated in its 128-year history. The Orange defeated No. 1 Nebraska 17-9 on Sept. 29, 1984. Junior quarterback Eric Dungey accounted for 339 yards of total offense and threw for three touchdowns against the Tigers.

Miami touts an unblemished 5-0 overall record and a 3-0 mark in ACC play. Last weekend, the Hurricanes secured a 25-24 victory against Georgia Tech when senior Michael Badgley kicked the game-winning field goal with four seconds remaining.

STIFF CHALLENGE
Syracuse has a chance to beat AP top-10 clubs in consecutive weeks as an unranked team. Should the Orange pull it off, they would become the seventh squad since the inception of the AP poll in 1936 to accomplish the feat, and first since Auburn did so in 2003. That Tiger team featured the likes of Jason Campbell, Cadillac Williams and Ronnie Brown. The full list of schools that have done it are below:

1959 - Illinois (#7 Wisconsin, #8 Northwestern)
1963 - Michigan State (#9 Northwestern, #8 Wisconsin)
1964 - Kentucky (#1 Ole Miss, #7 Auburn)
1968 - Oklahoma (#3 Kansas, #6 Missouri)
1972 - Missouri (#8 Notre Dame, #7 Colorado)
2003 - Auburn (#7 Tennessee, #7 Arkansas)

ORANGE IS THE NEW FAST
Syracuse is the national leader having run 599 offensive plays through its first seven games and the Orange are averaging 85.6 plays per contest. The Orange have run at least 90 plays on three occasions this season and have surpassed the 80-play mark five times.

Duke (574), San Jose State (560), Boston College (552) and Ohio State (548) round out the top five in terms of total play count.

HOMEWARD BOUND
Seventeen members of the Syracuse football team call Florida home, including senior Steve Ishmael who will play in his hometown of Miami Saturday. Ishmael currently leads the country with 62 receptions catches. The fourth-year wideout from North Miami Beach High School ranks second nationally in receptions per game (8.9) and third in both receiving yards and receiving yards per game (114.6).

Freshman Sharod Johnson, Ishmael's position-mate, also hails from Miami. Johnson attended Booker T. Washington High School. In addition to Ishmael and Johnson, several more members of the Syracuse roster grew up in Miami suburbs, including Juwan Dowels (Sunrise), Nadarius Fagan (Goulds), McKinley Williams (Miramar) and Sean Avant (Miramar).

ABOUT THE HURRICANES
Miami is in its second season under head coach Mark Richt. In his two years at the helm of the program, Richt touts a 14-4 overall record and guided his team to 31-14 victory against West Virginia in the 2016 Russell Athletic Bowl. Previously, Richt served as the head coach of Georgia from 2001-15, compiling a 145-51 record.

One of the key reasons why Miami is undefeated is its ability to hold onto the football. The Hurricanes are one of three teams nationally not to lose a fumble this season. In addition, Miami leads the nation with only three turnovers on the year.

Redshirt junior quarterback Malik Rosier has completed 101-of-171 passes for 1,371 yards and 12 touchdowns. Rosier ranks second in the ACC and 25th nationally in yards per completion (13.6). His 12 touchdown passes rank fourth in the league and 30th in the country, as well.

Miami owns one of the best rushing attacks in the conference. The Hurricanes average 195.4 rushing yards per game, which ranks fourth in the league. Junior running back Mark Walton, the team's leading rusher, is sidelined for the rest of the season due to injury. Sophomore running back Travis Homer ran for 170 yards and a touchdown last week against Georgia Tech.

Miami has held its opponents to 18.6 points per game this season, which ranks fourth in the ACC and 20th nationally. The Hurricanes have been able to consistently make plays in their opponents' backfields, ranking in the top five in the country in sacks (5th, 3.4 sacks per game) and tackles for loss (3rd, 8.6 tackles for loss per game).

SERIES HISTORY
Saturday's matchup is the 23rd meeting between Syracuse and Miami. The Hurricanes own a 15-7 advantage in the all-time series and have won the past five contests.

For the fifth straight meeting, Syracuse will face a nationally-ranked Miami squad. The last time the Orange played an unranked Hurricanes team was in 1999, a 45-13 loss.

In the last meeting between the two programs, No. 14 Miami scored a 17-10 victory over the Orange on Nov. 15, 2003. Syracuse running back Walter Reyes carried 24 times for 89 yards and a score in the loss.

Syracuse's last victory in the series came on Nov. 28, 1998. In his final game at the Carrier Dome, quarterback Donovan McNabb threw two touchdown passes and ran for three more in a 66-13 victory.

UP NEXT
Following a week off, Syracuse returns to the Sunshine State on Saturday, Nov. 4 to square off with Atlantic Division rival Florida State at Doak Campbell Stadium. Kick time for the Orange and Seminoles will be announced by the ACC on Monday.

For complete coverage of Syracuse football, follow us on Twitter (@CuseFootball), Instagram (@CuseFootball) and like us on Facebook (Syracuse Football).

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Players Mentioned

Sean Avant

Juwan Dowels

Nadarius Fagan

Steve Ishmael

McKinley Williams

Syracuse University Athletics