Teams: Syracuse Orange (4-4, 2-2) vs. Bye Week University Fightin’ Byes (0-8)
Day & Time: Saturday, October 28, 2017, noon ET
Location: Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Line: Syracuse opened as 10-point favorites and that line’s drifted slightly up to 11.5
TV/Streaming: ESPN 8: The Ocho
Radio: Swoff and the Rad Dog on AM 780
Bye Week blog: Shakin the Southland
Rivalry: Syracuse leads, 127-0
Current Streak: 127, Orange
First Meeting: The crosstown schools wanted to test the abilities of their local football clubs as the burgeoning sport began to gain popularity. They played on an empty field near downtown Syracuse with debatable rules and questionable officiating. Syracuse won, 4-2 in a game that would create the rivalry (or lack thereof) we know today.
Last Meeting: Syracuse’s high-powered offense came in riding a two-game winning streak and took it to the Fightin’ Byes, 56-7. The slow-paced approach for Bye Week U. was no match for the Orange’s speed and the team was quickly run off the Carrier Dome turf.
Head Coaches: SU: Dino Babers (2nd year, 8-12), Bye Week: Bino Dabers (2nd year, 0-20)
Coach Bio: Dabers spent much of the first few decades of his career as a journeyman assistant, then finally got a chance to be a head coach at Western Illinois. There, he showed off his slow-paced, rushing-based offensive attack which he learned at TCU a decade ago. After two years at WIU, he went off to Toledo for two years, and then headed to Bye Week U. He’s yet to win a game with the Byes, though they showed some promise vs. Clemson last week.
Last Year: Installing a slow-paced system is tough coming from a fast-paced offense, but Dabers appeared up to the task in the 2016 preseason. Unfortunately, it was too difficult of a transition for the team’s personnel which was more geared to Scott Schaeffer’s system. They went 0-12 with some small glimpses of a turnaround for 2017.
Last Game: Clemson needed a late field goal to beat Bye Week, 27-24. The Byes hung tough for much of the game, but simply couldn’t match the speed the Tigers were playing with. The slow-paced offense kept Clemson off balance early, but the talent disparity showed in the closing minutes as the Tigers methodically marched down for the winning score.
"Fear Me, I've Killed Hundreds of Timelords": Dante Struckland is a workhorse running back for the Byes, with nearly 1,000 yards on the season already. He’s Bye Week’s entire offense and they go nowhere without him. Last week against Clemson, he amassed 200 yards on the ground, and almost threw a touchdown pass to receiver Ishmael Stephen. Watch out for this guy.
If Syracuse Wins: The quest for bowl eligibility marches on. Syracuse has never lost to the Byes in over 125 years of playing one another, and we’re not about to start now.
If Syracuse Loses: Uhhhh... we might have some problems to discuss.
Fun Fact: The Fightin’ Byes were originally nicknamed the Mules. However, after Syracuse beat Bye Week for a fourth straight time in the 1890s, fans began singing “Bye-Bye, Byes!” in unison. The name stuck, and it later served as inspiration for the hit NSYNC single “Bye Bye Bye.”