Gopher Gameday Vitals - Syracuse

This is going to be a new, weekly post where we just give the facts about the upcoming Gopher game. No commentary, analysis or any of the other brilliance you have come to expect here, just the facts.

Game Day Vitals

• Opponent: Syracuse Orange
  
• Location: TCF Bank Stadium
  
• Gametime: 7:00 PM (CST)
  
• TV: Big Ten Network
  
• Radio: KFAN and the Gopher Radio Network (100.3 FM in the Twin Cities)
  

Opponent Information

• Official Website
• Blog: Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician
• Record: (1-2)
  
• Conference: Big East
  
• Common Opponents: Northwestern (Lost 42-41)
• What you should know: They have a prolific offense that may be very difficult to defend. They have the third highest scoring offense in the Big East and that is impressive mostly because they have scored 32.7 points per game while playing two BCS opponents (more than most programs have played at this point in the season). Yardage-wise they lead the Big East at 533 yards per game! Defensively they have allowed 33.7 points per game! So this one might be an old-fashioned shoot-out.
• One more thing to know: The Orange have some illustrious football alumni. Jim Brown, Larry Csonka, Art Monk, Floyd Little and three others are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Donovan McNabb, Dwight Freeny, Marvin Harrison and Ernie Davis are also former collegiate greats you have certainly heard of.
  
• Yet another thing I feel is worth sharing: Last season the Orange started the year 5-2 before losing their last five games and missing bowl eligibility.
  

Coaches and Players

• Head Coach: Doug Marrone (4th season)
  
• Key Offensive Players: QB-Ryan Nassib has been throwing the ball all over the field. In week one, against Northwestern, he was 45/66, threw for 482 yards, 4 touchdowns with just one interception (on 66 attempts!). In week 2 he threw for 322 yards and two touchdowns at USC. We better be
  
• Key Defensive Players: MLB-Marquis Spruill was a 2nd team All-Big East performer a year ago. This year he leads the team in tackles and has 3.5 TFLs.