The Liberty Flames (3-0) return to Syracuse, New York to to take on the Orange (2-1) from the Carrier Dome on Friday night. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. EST on the ACC Network.

This will be the third straight year these two teams have met with the road team winning each of the previous two contests. In 2019, as part of Hugh Freeze’s Liberty debut, the Flames were shutout by a top 25 Syracuse team, 24-0, in the season opener for both teams. Last year, the Flames flipped the script and defeated the Orange, 38-21, in the Carrier Dome in a game that marked Liberty’s first ever win over an ACC opponent.

The Orange have opened the year with wins over Ohio (29-9) and Albany (62-24) with a home loss to Rutgers (17-7) sandwiched in between.

Under head coach Dino Babers, the Orange are still trying to figure out who their quarterback will be as both Tommy DeVito and Garrett Shrader have both seen playing time in the first three games, and Babers has yet to name a starter for Friday night against Liberty.

DeVito has completed 32 of his 52 passes for 388 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions this season. He’s also carried the ball 21 times for 90 yards and an additional touchdown. Shrader, a transfer from Mississippi State, has completed 16 of 22 passes for 240 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. He’s also picked up 44 yards and 2 touchdowns on 14 rushing attempts.

Running back Sean Tucker is one of the best running backs Liberty has faced in quite some time. The freshman from Owings Mills, Maryland,  has rushed for 367 yards and 6 touchdowns through the first three games this season. He’s also second on the team with 7 receptions for 148 yards and a touchdown. Last week against Albany, Tucker had 132 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns and added 121 receiving yards and another touchdown.

“He put together one of the best rookie seasons in the history of Syracuse football,” Freeze said of Tucker and his debut last season. “We were impressed with him then and we’re even more impressed with him now. He’s a really good running back.”

Freeze says wide receiver Taj Harris is one of the best receivers he has seen on tape in a long time. The 6’2″, 180 pound Harris is from Beverly, New Jersey, and he sat out last week’s game against Albany, seemingly as a precaution to keep him healthy. He has 14 receptions for 151 yards so far this season.

“They both present a challenge to us,” Freeze said of the two options Syracuse has at quarterback. “It’s not just them, it’s the players around them. #3 (Taj Harris) is best receiver I have seen in a long time. I think the running back is really, really solid. Those tight ends are big and talented. Whichever quarterback it is, I think they both have weapons around them that they can be successful.”

The Orange rank No. 4 nationally in total defense, holding opponents to just 225.3 yards per game. They are holding opponents to just over 60 yards rushing each contest. The Syracuse defense starts with linebacker Mikel Jones who leads the team with 28 tackles. Freshman cornerback Duce Chestnut was named ACC Co-Rookie of the Week following his debut against Ohio in the season opener. He finished that game with an interception, a PBU, and 0.5 tackles for loss.

“(Their) DLine is a problem,” said Freeze. “They are really, really active. Playing extremely hard. It’s by far the best unit we’ve faced this year. It’s the same, same coordinator, same defense. They are just playing really well. I’m sure last year when we played them, they were hurt with the COVID world, all the things that came with that, but they are fast. They are playing at a very high level right now defensively, it’s going to be a great test for us.”

NOTABLES

  • Liberty lost its first 8 matchups with ACC opponents, but the Flames are 2-1 in its last three games, all of them coming during the 2020 season.
  • The Flames are looking to start the season 4-0 for a second straight season for the first time in program history since 1989 and 1990.
  • Since the first meeting between these two teams in 2019, Liberty is 21-5 and the Orange are 7-18.
  • Syracuse is one of just two teams that Liberty has faced in 2019 and 2020 and are scheduled to face again in 2021, joining UMass.
  • Dating back since Nov. 30, 2019, Liberty has not trailed by more than seven points at any point in any game, a span of 16 games, the second longest active streak of any FBS team. Alabama has the longest streak having never trailed by more than seven points in any of its last 20 games.

QUOTABLES

Hugh Freeze – “It’s a Power Five school that has Power Five players. This idea that because we beat them last year that we should go up there and that should be the expectation from everybody, that’s not the way it works when you are playing these teams that have good coaches and good players at their place on a short week. It’s a difficult task.”

DC Scott Symons on Syracuse – “They are really experienced up front. I think the difference to me starts up front with their OLine. They’re wanting to establish the run. They look like they are on the same page a lot more.”

Malik Willis on Syracuse – “This is definitely a different team this year from last year. They definitely looked good on film. I was excited. We all work hard, I find it encouraging when you see teams get better each year. It was cool to see that.”

Thomas Sargeant on Syracuse’s defense – “There’s a lot of similar faces from last year when we played them. They run a lot of things this year better than they did last year. I think they are really well coached. They are a team and DLine that likes to move a lot. They do have some really good guys. We have to be on top of our game.”

CJ Daniels – “The Syracuse game, it’s fire in our eyes. I’m not saying we’re taking this game more serious than the other games, but it’s a Power Five opponent. It’s our goal, we want to go out and show what we can do on live television.”

Ralfs Rusins – “They are a good team and they have good players. We’re just going to prepare for all of them and show what we can do on Friday night.”

PREDICTION

Liberty 31, Syracuse 23

Anytime Liberty plays a Power Five opponent, at least at this early stage in the program’s time as an FBS member, it will be a difficult game. The Orange have been recruiting at the P5 level for much longer than Liberty has even been recruiting at an FBS level. Still, the Flames have the better head coach and the best player on the field will be Malik Willis. The Flames’ margin of error is much smaller against an ACC team, but Freeze and Willis should be enough to push Liberty over the top.