Book follows the trend
This may not be the hottest take ever written, but good quarterbacks have gotten the better of the Orange almost every time during the Dino Babers era.
Who is the best signal-caller SU has beaten? Probably N.C. State's Ryan Finley this year, who threw for 400 yards and only caved at the very last moment on a rushed third-down interception. Jerod Evans in 2016 is another good one, though he did throw for 300 yards and two scores. And as we'll hit on soon, both of those defensive performances came with the assistance of the Carrier Dome crowd.
Otherwise, top-tier throwers have done well enough to win, whether by picking apart zone coverages on the back end or outwitting box defenders in the run-pass option game.
On paper, there's good reason to believe Book will follow that trend. The junior has thrown for 1,824 yards, 15 touchdowns and just four interceptions. He's completed 74.5 percent of his passes this fall.
Boykins bests banged-up corners
Book has a clear top target in wide receiver Miles Boykin. The 6-foot-4, 228-pound senior has racked up 44 catches for 654 yards and eight touchdowns this season, and has found the end zone at least once during each of UND's last six games.
Looking back three weeks ago, NCSU's Kelvin Harmon -- a clear NFL talent -- beat everyone SU threw at him. That largely banged-up group of corners is expected to have all of its members active, but it could still be vulnerable.
Keep an eye on whether freshman corner Trill Williams starts on the field side for the second straight game, opposite redshirt junior Chris Fredrick. The Yonkers native could be SU's top option there with junior Scoop Bradshaw (arm) and redshirt freshman Ifeatu Melifonwu (hamstring) coming off injuries.
Dexter Williams wears down Orange D
While SU's pass defense faces a stiff test, so does the Orange's run defense -- and the latter element has been the weaker of the two for most of this season.
A group of first-year starting linebackers struggled early in the season, but has come along in recent weeks as seniors Ryan Guthrie and Kielan Whitner have piled up experience.
That said, UND's rushing attack, led by Dexter Williams, will be one of the best Syracuse faces in 2018. The 5-foot-11, 215-pound senior is averaging 6.8 yards this year and has found the end zone 10 times.
Tackling in space from the linebackers as well as safeties Evan Foster and Andre Cisco will be key.
Clark Lea keeps the Orange guessing
SU has experienced two pretty clear defensive game plans over the last six weeks (discounting a Louisville team that was never going to execute anything): teams that have sold out to stop Dungey and force him to pass and a Wake Forest group that took away the vertical passing game and gave up underneath routes and running concepts with a soft box.
Lea is too sharp and gifted with too many playmakers to take a simple approach. But will he be able to mix in the right pressures and coverages at the right times? Can he throw Dungey out of whack and force some of the errant throws that have plagued him at times this fall.
Lea is plenty familiar with Dungey having shared a locker room with him for a season in Central New York, and I wouldn't be surprised if he received notes from Scott Shafer, who beat SU with Middle Tennessee State last fall, as well as former Orange assistants Tim Lester and Tim Daoust, who faced Dungey with Western Michigan in SU's season opener this year.
Crowd, conditions lift Irish late
The Orange snapped an eight-game road ACC losing stream in Winston-Salem, N.C., two weeks ago. But winning away from the Carrier Dome is still a hurdle the team hasn't full overcome.
Playing in a venue that could be filled with three times as many Fighting Irish fans as SU ones could play a factor late. Having to use a silent count is a considerable disadvantage; just ask Orange defensive end Alton Robinson, who timed one perfectly to pressure Finley on his game-sealing interception earlier this year.
Add in potentially strong winds and the idea of Dungey leading late-game touchdown drives becomes tougher to envision.
On the flip side, the Orange's defense was unable to get critical stops at Clemson and Pittsburgh this year. How will that group handle a similar situation with a crowd of gold roaring in the Bronx?
