Syracuse hosts Wake Forest and looks to end 3-game skid

A week after giving top-ranked Clemson fits for nearly threequarters, Syracuse is eager to prove it wasn’t a fluke.

The unbeaten Tigers led by just six points late in the third quarter last Saturday in Death Valley before pulling away for a 47-21 victory. The Orange (1-5, 1- 4 Atlantic Coast Conference) have lost three straight and hope that effort is a sign of better things ahead.

“Honestly, I feel like the team already knew that we could play like that. It was just a matter of time,” redshirt sophomore wide receiver Anthony Queeley said. “It has a lot to do with the seniors and the guys at the top of the pyramid. We just have to bring that same energy with us every week to every team that we play and not just Clemson.”

Up next is Wake Forest (3-2, 2-2) in the Carrier Dome on Saturday. The Demon Deacons, who

the season with a 37-13 loss to Clemson, have won three straight after a bumpy first month that also included a 45- 42 setback at North Carolina State. From there, a game against then- No. 3 Notre Dame was postponed because of coronavirus issues for the Fighting Irish, and Wake Forest had to reschedule a nonconference game against Campbell to avoid having consecutive open weeks and won that 66-14.

The Demon Deacons followed with consecutive home wins against Virginia and then-No. 19 Virginia Tech and nowhave a chance for a fourth straight win.

“I think some of those bye weeks early maybe helped us develop,” Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson said. “We’ve got a bye week after this and certainly that five-week stretch at the end is going to be challenging. We’ve got to try to get this one and play well and do everything we can against Syracuse, and then we’ll deal with that other problem later.”