NC State football vs. Syracuse: Scouting report and score prediction

No. 15 NC State (5-1, 1-1) will travel to New York to face No. 18 Syracuse (5-0, 2-0) on Saturday (3:30 p.m., ACC Network) in the first game at the JMA Wireless Dome between Top 25 teams since Nov. 24, 2001.

Over 45,000 tickets have already been sold for the Top 20 matchup, making it the largest crowd at the Dome in more than three years.

The Wolfpack look to win their second straight after last week's 19-17 win over Florida State. NC State will then enter a bye week before hosting Virginia Tech on Thursday, Oct. 27 at 7:30 p.m.

SCORE UPDATES, HIGHLIGHTS:NC State football score vs. Syracuse: Live updates from Top 25 battle

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Who will start at QB for NC State?

That's one of the big questions and the one coach Dave Doeren has refused to answer all week.

Devin Leary suffered an injury to his throwing shoulder against Florida State, and on Monday, Doeren kept Leary's recovery vague, saying he was "day-to-day" and could potentially suit up against the Orange. He also said on Monday that "it could be six weeks" until Leary is ready to play again.

On Thursday, Doeren told media they'd "find out Saturday" if Leary would be in the lineup.

If Leary can't play, 25-year-old backup quarterback Jack Chambers will get the start. Chambers, a Charleston Southern transfer, led the Wolfpack to three scoring drives in the final 20 minutes during a 19-17 comeback win over the Seminoles last Saturday.

Although Chambers threw only one pass against Florida State, he completed 523-of-915 passes for 5,761 yards during four seasons with Charleston Southern before transferring for his final season of eligibility.

He finished third in the FCS last season for completion percentage (63.3%), 30th in passing efficiency (134.5) and 13th in passing yards per game (249.5). Chambers threw for a career-high 341 yards in a win against Monmouth.

The Wolfpack have three reserve quarterbacks on their roster, including backup Chambers, true freshman MJ Morris, the No. 5-ranked dual-threat quarterback from the Class of 2022, and fourth-string quarterback Ben Finley, who has been running the scout team this season.

"All the guys will have to be ready to play," Doeren said Monday.

Tyler Baker-Williams returns

Despite the uncertainty at the quarterback position, Doeren did have some good news.

Senior nickelback Tyler Baker-Williams will return to the starting lineup after suffering an injury during a Week 3 win over Texas Tech. Before missing the last three games, Baker-Williams had two interceptions, a sack and a forced fumble in three games ‒ two of which he did not finish.

His return comes at a good time for the Wolfpack, which will be without defensive back Shyheim Battle for the first half against Syracuse after a targeting penalty in the second half against FSU.

History in the making?

Saturday's game will be the first in 24 years to be played between top 20 teams at the JMA Wireless Dome.

It's been 31 years since the Orange won a top-20 matchup on its home turf. They've also never beaten a conference opponent in a top-20 meeting.

Syracuse enters the game as a slight favorite, mainly due to the uncertainty at quarterback for the Wolfpack, but a win would be the Orange's first 6-0 start since 1987 and just the third time ever.

Syracuse has its own injury issues

SU coach Dino Babers confirmed Monday that defensive lineman Denis Jaquez Jr. was gone for the season after leaving the Orange's last game against Wagner with an air cast on his right arm.

Syracuse will also be without defensive lineman Terry Lockett

Jaquez makes five players Syracuse will be without for the rest of the year. That’s a loss of one player per game, a rate Babers said had to be quelled two weeks ago after defensive lineman Terry Lockett’s lower-body injury.

Fullback and tight end Chris Elmore, linebacker Stefon Thompson and wide receiver Isaiah Jones are the three other players out for the season following injuries.

Babers also said Monday that linebacker Derek McDonald, who replaced Thompson following his Week 1 injury, should be available Saturday. McDonald missed the last two weeks with an undisclosed injury, but Babers had said ahead of Week 5 that it was not season-ending.

Prediction

NC State 20, Syracuse 14: This reporter believes that Jack Chambers will get the start at quarterback and the Wolfpack will have a slow start on offense against Syracuse. But, the Orange have not seen a defense like NC State.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: NC State football vs. Syracuse: Scouting report and score prediction