FACTS & STATS: Site: Carrier Dome (49,262) -- Syracuse, New York. Television: None. Home Record: Akron 0-0, Syracuse 0-0. Away Record: Akron 0-1, Syracuse 0-1. Neutral Record: Akron 0-0, Syracuse 0-0. Conference Record: Akron 0-0, Syracuse 0-0. Series Record: First-ever meeting.
GAME NOTES: Two teams looking to crack into the win column in this young 2008 season will collide this Saturday afternoon at the Carrier Dome, as the Syracuse Orange will host the Akron Zips in non-league action.
For the fourth time in the last five seasons the Zips opened a new season with a loss, as Akron was pummeled by the Wisconsin Badgers, 38-17. Akron has not had much success against non-conference foes since 2004, losing 12 of its last 16 matchups against teams outside the MAC. After this contest the Zips will open league play at home against Ball State.
As for the Orange, they dropped their season-opener for the fifth consecutive season, losing to Northwestern, 30-10. Syracuse has been abysmal at home over the previous three seasons, collecting a horrid 5-14 mark at the Carrier Dome. Next up for the Orange will be a very tough battle against the Penn State Nittany Lions.
This will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools on the gridiron.
The Zips were simply overmatched in their opener against Wisconsin, as the team finished with just 297 total yards. The ground game struggled mightily as Akron posted just 70 yards on 22 attempts (3.2 ypc). Dennis Kennedy led the way with 35 yards on just eight attempts, but no other player had more than 20 yards on the ground. The only real bright spot in the setback was the play of quarterback Chris Jacquemain. The junior signal caller completed 22-of-36 passes for 227 yards and two scores in the contest. Deryn Bowser was the main target for Jacquemain, as the wide out hauled in five passes for 76 yards. However, Alphonso Owen and Merce Poindexter were the two players on the receiving end of Jacquemain's touchdown passes. Akron collected just 19 first downs in the contest, and converted only 4-of-11 third down attempts.
Defensively the Zips got a heavy dose of Wisconsin's punishing ground game, and were unable to stop the Badgers throughout the contest. Akron surrendered 479 total yards in the contest, but 404 of those yards came via the run. The defense was on the field for over 35 minutes of the contest, and allowed Wisconsin to rack up 27 first downs. The lack of production from Akron's defense is not surprising, considering this unit was horrendous just a year ago, allowing 184.0 ypg on the ground, while surrendering another 225 yards per matchup through the air. If the Zips are to have any success this season, the defensive unit must improve drastically against the run.
The Orange were horrendous offensively this past season, an unfortunately for the fans of Syracuse it is likely this season's squad will have plenty of problems producing points as well. Syracuse posted just 10 points in the loss to Northwestern last week, and the team finished with just 225 total yards. The rushing attack collected 122 yards in the contest, and the majority of the work was done by Curtis Brinkley, who rushed for 49 yards and one touchdown on nine totes. While the ground game was inconsistent, the passing attack was much worse, as Andrew Robinson struggled in the opener, completing just 14- of-28 passes for only 103 yards. The signal-caller was also sacked twice and tossed one interception in the setback. Overall, the Orange collected just 11 first downs, and converted on only 3-of-14 third down attempts.
Fortunately Syracuse will square off against a team with a weak offense, which should give the defensive unit for the Orange a chance to build some confidence. Akron should keep the matchup close, but expect Syracuse to come away with a hard-fought win.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Syracuse 27, Akron 21
Game Date and Time
Saturday, September 6th, 3:30 p.m. (et)
Add Comment