Maryland @ Syracuse preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 9, 2013 ) Syracuse 20, Maryland 3

Coming off a resounding road victory, Syracuse returns to the Carrier Dome on Saturday to face Maryland as the teams meet for the second straight season. The matchup between the Orange and Terrapins is now a nonconference game as Maryland currently resides in the Big Ten after the teams temporarily overlapped in the Atlantic Coast Conference a season ago. The 2013 meeting resulted in a 20-3 victory for Syracuse, which outrushed Maryland 242-81 and forced four turnovers, including two interceptions of C.J. Brown.

The Orange are looking to ride the momentum from last week's 40-3 rout of Central Michigan, a game in which Terrel Hunt rushed for three touchdowns and threw for another score. Brown accounted for 402 yards of offense last week in Maryland's 40-37 defeat to West Virginia, reminding Orange coach Scott Shafer that the Terps' offense is capable of some serious damage. "They have a couple of really top-tier wide receivers, a quarterback that if he gets hot can really make some plays and they're going to run the football," Shafer said.

TV: 12:30 p.m. ET, ACC Network. LINE: Maryland -1

ABOUT MARYLAND (2-1): The Terrapins, who have not visited the Carrier Dome since 1994, endured a horrendous defensive performance against West Virginia in which the Mountaineers rolled up 694 yards of offense, including 511 through the air. Maryland ranks third in the Big Ten with 37.7 points per contest, thanks in large part to Brown, a sixth-year senior whose 161 rushing yards on Saturday marked the second-highest total for a quarterback in school history. Junior wideout Stefon Diggs has at least five catches and 50 yards in all three games this season and is coming off a 127-yard, one-touchdown effort against the Mountaineers.

ABOUT SYRACUSE (2-0): The Orange, who are trying to start 3-0 for the first time since 1991, have not allowed a sack - one of four FBS teams to keep its quarterback off the turf this season. Syracuse also has not thrown an interception in 2014 and has three runners with more than 100 yards -- Adonis Ameen-Moore, Hunt and Prince-Tyson Gulley -- all of whom are averaging at least 6.3 yards per carry. Orange senior linebacker Cameron Lynch leads the ACC with 11.5 tackles per game.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Maryland ranks in the top 10 nationally in both kick returns and punt returns. William Likely had a 69-yard punt return for a score last week.

2. Syracuse leads the all-time series 19-14-2 with five straight wins dating back to 1985.

3. Terps head coach Randy Edsall played quarterback at Syracuse from 1976-79 and coached at the school from 1980-90.

PREDICTION: Syracuse 33, Maryland 30