About Syracuse (8-3, 4-3): The Orange have played well for first-year coach Fran Brown, securing a solid record and a bowl spot. Now Syracuse has a chance to play spoiler. Kyle McCord is the only quarterback with more passing yards than Cam Ward, and he poses a threat when he has the ball.

Win, and the Hurricanes are in the conference title game against SMU. Lose, and the Miami is holding its breath to see if it can somehow sneak in as an at-large for the 12-team College Football Playoff.

Win this weekend in Syracuse and the Hurricanes are going to next weekend’s Atlantic Coast Conference title game. Lose to Syracuse, the title hopes are gone and so may be any realistic shot at the College Football Playoff.