Syracuse vs. NC State: Orange look for second win in ACC opener since 2013

The Syracuse Orange begin ACC play on Saturday against the NC State Wolfack. And while a win there will always be critical, this year’s matchup is a bit more so.

At 2-2, the Orange are going to be hard-pressed to get to six wins and bowl eligibility without a victory over the Pack this week. Unfortunately, they haven’t done been all that successful in ACC openers to-date, though.

In fact, since joining the ACC, SU’s won their league opener once: 2015’s victory over Wake Forest. That game was also Eric Dungey’s first start and the game we started to realize the type of talent we had at quarterback.

But the other three matchups? Not nearly as much success. Syracuse lost to Clemson 49-14 in its first ACC game in 2013 -- the contest that would launch us into the internet rivalry with the Tigers. The 2014 league opener was a pretty miserable 28-6 loss to Louisville that ended up sidelining Terrel Hunt for that season. Last year’s Cardinals opener was a similar disaster at 62-28.

Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images

The struggles early on in conference play aren’t necessarily new for Syracuse, either. SU went 4-7 in Big East openers from 2002 to 2012, though they were 2-2 in their final four openers. Obviously that time period also coincides with the Orange’s worst stretch in program history.

This is a new year, and we’ve yet to open league play with NC State. The Pack are coming off a big win over Florida State, but Syracuse is actually 1-0 against teams coming off a win this year, and 0-2 vs. teams coming off a loss.

Syracuse, themselves, are 0-2 after wins this year, but 2-0 (counting last year’s Pitt loss in the finale as well) following losses.

It’s early, and there’s plenty of time left for predictions later in the week. But what do you think? Any chance SU moves to 2-3 in ACC openers?