No. 18 Syracuse remains undefeated with 24-9 win over No. 15 NC State

No. 18 Syracuse’s improbable unbeaten run will continue for another week.

The Orange, one of the biggest surprises in the country, got another win on Saturday — this time a 24-9 home win over No. 15 NC State. With the victory, Syracuse improved to 6-0 to clinch bowl eligibility for the first time since 2018 and set up a massive ACC Atlantic showdown at Clemson next weekend.

NC State was playing without quarterback Devin Leary, the ACC preseason player of the year, and Syracuse's defense took advantage. The NC State offense was struggling with Leary in the lineup and things didn't go smoothly with backup Jack Chambers in there.

Chambers attempted only one pass in relief of the injured Leary in last week’s win over Florida State. In this one, the Syracuse defense limited him to just 160 passing yards and 58 rushing yards. That made up a majority of the production for NC State, which averaged just 3.7 yards per play and didn’t reach the end zone a single time in the loss.

Syracuse controlled the game, but a pair of interceptions thrown by Orange QB Garrett Shrader in NC State territory allowed the Wolfpack to stay in striking distance. The Syracuse lead was 10-3 at halftime, 10-6 midway through the third and then 17-6 entering the fourth.

NC State then embarked on an 18-play, 56-yard drive that ate up more than half of the fourth quarter but ended in a field goal when the Wolfpack were backed up to the 19 on fourth-and-goal.

That kick cut the Syracuse lead to one possession, 17-9, with 6:58 to play. But Syracuse’s Sean Tucker put the game to rest with a 25-yard touchdown run on the next drive.

Shrader, Tucker and Orondre Gadsden II were the stars for Syracuse’s offense like they have been all year. Shrader threw for 210 yards and two touchdowns while adding 81 rushing yards. Tucker finished the day with 98 yards and a touchdown on the ground while Gadsden caught eight passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns in the win.

Syracuse went 10-3 back in 2018 but had won a combined 11 games in the three seasons since, so this is a major accomplishment already for Dino Babers’ program. Babers’ job status seemed like it could be on shaky ground when the season began, but now he has the Orange in the thick of the ACC title race.

The schedule has been pretty easy so far and is about to get much more difficult. Syracuse will head to Clemson next week before hosting Notre Dame on Oct. 29. We’ll learn a whole lot more about the Orange in the coming weeks.

On the other side, NC State dropped to 5-2 on the year with a bye week ahead. With Leary out for the year, it could be tough sledding in the weeks ahead for the Wolfpack, who had a lot of buzz as a potential ACC champion — or sleeper College Football Playoff contender — entering the season. Instead, NC State appears destined for the middle of the pack in the conference — or maybe worse if Dave Doeren doesn’t find a way to get improved play on offense.