Teams: Syracuse Orange (1-1, 0-0) vs. Central Michigan Chippewas (2-0, 0-0)
Day & Time: Saturday, September 16, 2017, 3:30 p.m. ET
Field: Carrier Dome, Syracuse, NY
Line: Syracuse, -10 (started there and still hanging around there)
TV: ACC Network Extra (WatchESPN)
Radio: Syracuse IMG Network, WAER 88.3, Sirius 93/XM 193
Central Michigan blog: Hustle Belt
Rivalry: 3-0, Orange
Current Streak: Syracuse, 3
First Meeting: Syracuse beat CMU at the Carrier Dome in 1999, 47-7. Troy Nunes threw for 170 yards and three touchdowns, and SU picked up 495 yards of total offense vs. the Chippewas. Quinton Spotwood had six catches for 135 yards and two touchdowns in the rout.
Last Meeting: The Orange appeared to be cruising vs. the Chips until Mitch Stanitzek (ironically, wearing No. 44) exacted a brutal hit to Eric Dungey’s head, knocking him out of the game. CMU completed a Hail Mary to force OT, but SU was able to grab the win in the extra period, 30-27.
Head Coaches: SU: Dino Babers (2nd year, 5-9), CMU: John Bonamego (3rd year, 15-13)
Coach Bio: After wrapping up his playing career at Central Michigan, Bonamego got into coaching at the high school level, then college. He bounced from Maine to Lehigh to Army from 1988 to 1998, before heading to the NFL. In the pros, he was in Jacksonville, Green Bay, Miami, New Orleans and Detroit coaching special teams, before heading back to his alma mater to take the head job. Shortly after taking the gig in 2015, he was diagnosed with an early form of tonsil cancer. He completed radiation treatment in August 2015.
Last Year: The Chips went a forgettable 6-7, including a blowout Miami Beach Bowl loss to Tulsa -- or the campaign would’ve been forgettable if not for a miraculous upset victory over Oklahoma State, which you’ll re-watch in all its insanity below.
Last Game: CMU headed to Lawrence, Kan. to face off with the supposedly improving Jayhawks. The Chippewas left with a 45-27 victory behind Shane Morris’s 467 passing yards and five touchdowns. After Kansas started the game up 3-0, Central Michigan outscored them 24-3 in the second quarter and never looked back from there.
"Fear Me, I've Killed Hundreds of Timelords": Michigan transfer Morris is too easy of a choice here, so let’s go a little off the path with wide receiver Mark Chapman. The senior was a standout last week, catching eight passes for 168 yards and three scores. But that output makes for a significant portion of his career numbers. He’ll be called upon quite a bit with Corey Willis and Brandon Childress out.
If Syracuse Wins: All is relatively right with the world, if only for a few days (before LSU). The Orange course-correct to get to 2-1 and hopefully diagnose some of last week’s issues in the process. For those that lost faith in Babers following a seven-point loss to Middle Tennessee, you’re cordially invited back onto the wagon.
If Syracuse Loses: We’re in panic mode heading into the season’s toughest stretch. At 1-2, there’s practically zero hope for a bowl game and a real chance this team could lose nine, 10 or even 11 games.
Fun Fact: Central Michigan is one of just a handful of FBS programs to go winless against Syracuse in three or more tries. Along with the Chippewas, Toledo, Missouri and UCF are also 0-3 all-time against the Orange. Should SU defeat CMU this weekend, the Chips would be the only current FBS program to be 0-4 against us.