Steve Infanti’s keys to an SU win Saturday

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — Syracuse will look to improve to 5-1 on the season when it travels to NC State on Saturday night. Sports director Steve Infanti offers up his keys to the game for the Orange.

Start Strong:

Between injuries and a tough schedule, NC State is off to a 3-3 start which is well below the preseason expectations. Despite the struggles though, keep in mind that the Wolfpack is still very good at home. NC State is 25-5 at Carter-Finley Stadium over the course of the last five seasons. Syracuse has also lost its last four games there. Add in the fact that this is a desperate opponent and you can expect the Orange to be in for a dogfight. One of the best ways to combat a hostile environment is to get off to a good start and quiet the crowd. SU has gotten off to a fast start in each of its last two games against Holy Cross and UNLV.  It would be wise for the Orange to continue that trend and force the Wolfpack to play from behind.

Speed Up CJ:

NC State will once again be without its starting quarterback this week. Grayson McCall was hospitalized last Saturday after taking a hit to the head in the Wake Forest game. That means C.J. Bailey will once again be called upon to run the offense. Bailey took over midway through the Louisiana Tech game (the third game of the season for NC State) and led the Wolfpack to a 30-20 comeback win. Bailey has appeared in every game since then with varying degrees of success.  He’s completing 65% of his passes, has thrown three interceptions to four touchdowns, and has been sacked five times. The good news for the Orange is that he’s not really a threat to run. The ‘Cuse defense will look to apply some pressure to CJ Bailey, speed him up, and force him to make quick decisions. If they’re able to do that, they should be able to force the NC State offense into some mistakes.

Be Average:

A couple of weeks ago, I used the phrase “Be Special” in previewing the SU-Stanford game. As in, the Orange had to be better with its special teams unit. If not for a number of mistakes in the kicking game, the Orange likely would’ve beaten Georgia Tech by double digits. The same can be said for the UNLV game. Syracuse handed the Rebels 14 points following a pair of botched punts. That unit doesn’t necessarily need to be “special” against NC State. Just average would be an improvement. If SU can be solid in the various phases of the kicking game, Syracuse should find itself in a good position to win this game in the fourth quarter.

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