# 2018 Syracuse Orange football team

The 2018 Syracuse Orange football team represented Syracuse University during the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Orange were led by third-year head coach Dino Babers and played their home games at the Carrier Dome. They competed as members of the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference. After being picked to finish last in the preseason media poll, Syracuse went 10–3, 6–2 in ACC play to finish in 2nd place in the Atlantic Division, their first winning season and bowl invitation since 2013. They were invited to the Camping World Bowl, where they defeated West Virginia.

## Recruiting
### Position key

| Back | B | Center | C | Cornerback | CB | Defensive back | DB |
| Defensive end | DE | Defensive lineman | DL | Defensive tackle | DT | End | E |
| Fullback | FB | Guard | G | Halfback | HB | Kicker | K |
| Kickoff returner | KR | Offensive tackle | OT | Offensive lineman | OL | Linebacker | LB |
| Long snapper | LS | Punter | P | Punt returner | PR | Quarterback | QB |
| Running back | RB | Safety | S | Tight end | TE | Wide receiver | WR |

### Recruits

The Orange signed a total of 18 recruits.
US college sports recruiting information for 2018 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Gabe Horan TE | Baldwinsville, New York | Charles W. Baker High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 260 lb (120 kg) | Feb 9, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Atrilleon Williams DB | White Plains, New York | Archbishop Stepinac High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Mar 27, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Cooper Lutz WR | Reading, Pennsylvania | Berks Catholic High School | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Apr 20, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Juan Wallace LB | Washington, D.C. | IMG Academy | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | May 4, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Akeem Dixon RB | Vero Beach, Florida | Vero Beach High School | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 235 lb (107 kg) | May 17, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Anthony Queeley WR | Orlando, Florida | Lake Nona High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Jun 18, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Willem Froumy OT | Exeter, New Hampshire | Exeter High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 290 lb (130 kg) | Jun 20, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Taj Harris WR | Palmyra, New Jersey | Palmyra High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Jun 24, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Edward Hendrix WR | Washington, D.C. | H.D. Woodson High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Aug 16, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Cameron Jonas S | West Palm Beach, Florida | Dwyer High School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 187 lb (85 kg) | Aug 21, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Qadir White OT | Bronx, New York | Cardinal Hayes High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 334 lb (151 kg) | Aug 24, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Andre Cisco S | Valley Stream, New York | IMG Academy | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 186 lb (84 kg) | Dec 8, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Tre Allison LB | Tyler, Texas | John Tyler High School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 212 lb (96 kg) | Dec 10, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Lakiem Williams LB | Tacoma, Washington | Butte College | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 240 lb (110 kg) | Dec 10, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Carlos Vettorello OG | Detroit, Michigan | University of Detroit Jesuit High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 277 lb (126 kg) | Dec 12, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Chance Amie QB | Tyler, Texas | Robert E. Lee High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 191 lb (87 kg) | Dec 20, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Jarveon Howard RB | Columbia, Mississippi | East Marion High School | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 202 lb (92 kg) | Jan 29, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Caleb Okechukwu DE | Washington, D.C. | St. John's College High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 240 lb (110 kg) | Feb 7, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Syracuse Football Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 4, 2018. "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 4, 2018. |||||||

## Preseason
### Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released
| Award | Player | Position | Year |
| Maxwell Award | Eric Dungey | QB | SR |
| John Mackey Award | Ravian Pierce | TE | SR |
| Ray Guy Award | Sterling Hofrichter | P | JR |
| Paul Hornung Award | Sean Riley | WR/KR | JR |
| Wuerffel Trophy | Kielan Whitner | LB | SR |
| Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award | Eric Dungey | QB | SR |
| Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award | Koda Martin | OL | SR |

### ACC media poll

The ACC media poll was released on July 24, 2018.
Media poll (Atlantic) :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Clemson | 1,031 (145) |
| 2 | Florida State | 789 (1) |
| 3 | NC State | 712 (2) |
| 4 | Boston College | 545 |
| 5 | Louisville | 422 |
| 6 | Wake Forest | 413 |
| 7 | Syracuse | 232 |

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 31 | 6:00 p.m. | at Western Michigan* | | Waldo StadiumKalamazoo, MI | CBSSN | W 55–42 | 20,628 |
| September 8 | 3:30 p.m. | Wagner* | | Carrier DomeSyracuse, NY | ACCN Extra | W 62–10 | 29,395 |
| September 15 | 12:00 p.m. | Florida State | | Carrier DomeSyracuse, NY | ESPN | W 30–7 | 37,457 |
| September 22 | 4:00 p.m. | UConn* | | Carrier DomeSyracuse, NY (rivalry) | ESPNews | W 51–21 | 36,632 |
| September 29 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 3 Clemson | | Memorial StadiumClemson, SC | ABC | L 23–27 | 80,122 |
| October 6 | 12:20 p.m. | at Pittsburgh | | Heinz FieldPittsburgh, PA (rivalry) | ACCN | L 37–44 $^{OT}$ | 37,100 |
| October 20 | 12:20 p.m. | North Carolina | | Carrier DomeSyracuse, NY | ACCN | W 40–37 $^{2OT}$ | 35,210 |
| October 27 | 7:00 p.m. | No. 22 NC State | | Carrier DomeSyracuse, NY | ESPN2 | W 51–41 | 40,769 |
| November 3 | 12:00 p.m. | at Wake Forest | No. 19 | BB&T FieldWinston-Salem, NC | ACCRSN | W 41–24 | 26,136 |
| November 9 | 7:00 p.m. | Louisville | No. 13 | Carrier DomeSyracuse, NY | ESPN2 | W 54–23 | 42,797 |
| November 17 | 2:30 p.m. | vs. No. 3 Notre Dame* | No. 12 | Yankee StadiumBronx, NY | NBC | L 3–36 | 48,104 |
| November 24 | 12:00 p.m. | at Boston College | No. 20 | Alumni StadiumChestnut Hill, MA | ESPN | W 42–21 | 34,959 |
| December 28 | 5:15 p.m. | vs. No. 16 West Virginia* | No. 20 | Camping World StadiumOrlando, FL (Camping World Bowl) (rivalry) | ESPN | W 34–18 | 41,125 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after October 30 released prior to gameAll times are in Eastern time ||||||||
Schedule Source:

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Final |
| AP | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | — | — | — | 22 | 13 | 12 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 15 |
| Coaches | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | — | RV | 24 | 13 | 12 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 15 |
| CFP | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 19 | 13 | 12 | 20 | 20 | 20 | Not released |

## Game summaries
### At Western Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Orange | 24 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 55 |
| Broncos | 7 | 0 | 28 | 7 | 42 |

### Wagner

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Seahawks | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
| • Orange | 21 | 24 | 14 | 3 | 62 |

### Florida State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Seminoles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| • Orange | 3 | 3 | 14 | 10 | 30 |

### UConn

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Huskies | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| • Orange | 24 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 51 |

### At Clemson

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Orange | 6 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 23 |
| • No. 3 Tigers | 7 | 0 | 6 | 14 | 27 |

### At Pittsburgh

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Orange | 14 | 3 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 37 |
| • Panthers | 14 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 44 |

### North Carolina

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | 2OT | Total |
| Tar Heels | 7 | 0 | 17 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 37 |
| • Orange | 0 | 13 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 40 |

### NC State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 22 Wolfpack | 7 | 13 | 7 | 14 | 41 |
| Orange | 24 | 3 | 14 | 10 | 51 |

### At Wake Forest

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 22 Orange | 14 | 7 | 14 | 6 | 41 |
| Demon Deacons | 10 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 24 |

### Louisville

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 0 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 23 |
| No. 13 Orange | 7 | 30 | 7 | 10 | 54 |

### Vs. Notre Dame

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 3 Fighting Irish | 13 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 36 |
| No. 12 Orange | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |

### At Boston College

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 19 Orange | 14 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 42 |
| Eagles | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 |

### Vs. West Virginia (Camping World Bowl)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 15 Mountaineers | 3 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 18 |
| No. 17 Orange | 7 | 7 | 3 | 17 | 34 |

## 2019 NFL Draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL Club |
| 7 | 245 | Chris Slayton | DT | New York Giants |