Syracuse (3-5, 1-3 Atlantic Coast) faces North Carolina State (4-4, 0-4) at 3 p.m. on Saturday in the Carrier Dome. The Daily Orange spoke with Wolfpack beat reporter Joe Giglio, via email, to gain some insight on N.C. State.

The Daily Orange: About a month ago, it took a 17-point comeback from then-No. 1 Florida State to beat N.C. State. The Wolfpack has lost every game since. What happened?

Joe Giglio: A couple of things: N.C. State’s defense has struggled and did even when it was winning in the early games.

Junior quarterback Jacoby Brissett hasn’t been as sharp against Atlantic Coast Conference opponents as he was early in the season and even in the loss to FSU.

The ACC schedule was front-loaded with FSU, Clemson, Louisville and Boston College. You could make an argument those are the four best teams in the ACC.

D.O.: Is it really just a matter of the team having played a weak nonconference schedule and getting burned against for it ACC opponents?

J.G.: Georgia Southern and Old Dominion have no name recognition or tradition but they’re not bad teams. South Florida was bad and Presbyterian is not good.

To go from that to FSU-Clemson was a difficult transition. Interesting, though, N.C. State will be the only ACC team that plays FSU with quarterback Jameis Winston, Clemson with quarterback Deshaun Watson and Louisville with receiver DeVante Parker.

D.O.: Jacoby Brissett is what you would call a mobile quarterback, but most signal callers have to be now. For those that haven’t seen him, what kind of threat does he pose?

J.G.: He’s better when he stays in the pocket. He’s a good athlete and can run but he’s not a runner, per se.

D.O.: The Syracuse defense hasn’t been beat for many big plays this season. Who’s most likely to do it from N.C. State?

J.G.: Home runs aren’t exactly N.C. State’s strength. Their offense has been most effective when it can run the ball and when Brissett has time. Tight end David J. Grinnage has been the best scoring threat recently with three touchdowns in the past two games.

D.O.: And finally, do you have a prediction?

J.G.: N.C. State’s Atlantic Division road record is 2-23 but this is a great spot on the schedule. N.C. State wins, 27-17.

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Published on October 31, 2014 at 5:33 pm

Contact Jacob: jmklinge@syr.edu | @Jacob_Klinger_