The Gophers will host Syracuse under the lights at TCF Bank Stadium on Saturday night.
Now that the first win has been earned, the Syracuse football team (1-2) looks to earn its second win of the season when it faces Minnesota (3-0) Saturday, Sept. 22nd. It will be the Orange’s first true road game when it travels to Minneapolis to face the Golden Gophers, who are 2-0 at home. Syracuse defeated Stony Brook this past weekend, 28-17, and snapped its seven game losing streak that dated back to the 2011 season.
“It was really important to win,” said linebacker Dyshawn Davis. “We didn’t have our first win in so long. Last year we lost five straight and it got a chip off of our shoulder to just get that win. It just felt good. We’ve been working so hard all year long to get that W. In the first two weeks we fell so short. That was our goal. Just to go out there and get it done. It wasn’t pretty, but we got it done.”
Against Stony Brook, the Orange defense held the Seawolves to only 50 yards of offense in the second half. The Seawolves also did not score any points in the second half of the contest. Davis, along with fellow linebacker Marquis Spruill, led the Orange defense with eight tackles each.
“We knew what we needed to do,” Davis said. “We got the job done. They broke for a couple of yards but the second half, we made a couple of adjustments and we went out there and executed well. We were able to shut them out. “
Against Stony Brook, the Orange offense had another impressive showing, producing more than 400 yards of offense for the third straight game. SU produced 549 total yards of offense against the Seawolves and senior quarterback Ryan Nassib went 22-of-35 passing for 335 yards and three touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Marcus Sales recorded his fourth straight 100-yard game and extended his streak to four consecutive games with at least one touchdown reception.
“It’s just the same preparation,” Davis said. “Nothing has changed from the first week, from this week. We just have been working hard every day and getting better. We are approaching every game to get a win. We are trying to win out. That’s been the goal before the season even started, to win all of the games. It felt so good to get that first win out of the way. We have that feeling of how it feels to win again and how to celebrate the win and what it takes to win. It feels good.”
While the Orange is in search of its second win, this is the second time this season that it faces a Big Ten opponent. SU opened up the 2012 season with a 42-41 loss to Northwestern.
“We want to go out there and play Syracuse football,” Davis said. “It starts tomorrow. We lost to Northwestern and they are in their conference. Northwestern is 3-0. Minnesota is 3-0. We get another shot at getting a win. They have a new stadium. Its four years old. It’s going to be a pretty good experience, not for just the players, but the coaches as well. We are all looking forward to going out there and playing a great game. “
The Orange and the Golden Gophers play at 8 p.m. on the Big Ten Network on Saturday, Sept. 22.