FACTS & STATS: Site: Carrier Dome (49,550) -- Syracuse, New York. Television: ESPNU. Home Record: Illinois 1-0, Syracuse 0-1. Away Record: Illinois 0-0, Syracuse 0-1. Neutral Record: Illinois 0-1, Syracuse 0-0. Conference Record: Illinois 0-0, Syracuse 0-0. Series Record: Illinois leads, 9-2.

GAME NOTES: Shut out for the first time since November of 2005 last week, the Syracuse Orange continue the drive for their first win of 2007 as they host Illinois in the Carrier Dome this weekend. The Orange offense was nowhere to be found on Saturday when it ran into Iowa on the road and ended up with a miserable 35-0 setback. With the Big East Conference schedule ready to kick off against high-flying Louisville on September 22 on the road, Syracuse is going to be hard-pressed to find a game in which it can dominate this season. Although, the team still has non-conference meetings with Miami-Ohio and Buffalo still on tap. As for the Illini, a team that won a mere two games last season and was 1-7 versus the rest of the Big Ten Conference, it bounced back from a season-opening loss to Missouri in St. Louis to capture a 21-0 win against Western Illinois, a program that competes in the Football Championship Subdivision in the Gateway Conference. Aside from a date with Ball State later in October, Illinois has a rough road ahead with league bouts beginning next Saturday. As far as the all-time series between the teams is concerned, Illinois had won all but one of the 10 meetings heading into last year's confrontation in Champaign, a meeting that ended with the Orange posting a 31-21 decision. The Illini have won all three games played in Syracuse, dating back to the first meeting in 1909.

Back in the saddle and in the huddle for the Illini at quarterback, Juice Williams made sure that his team picked up at least one win on the season, even though he hit just 12-of-24 passing for 123 yards, was sacked twice and threw an interception in the victory. Williams, along with Rashard Mendenhall and Daniel Dufrene, did score a touchdown on the ground, with Mendenhall producing a team-best 139 yards on 23 carries for the home team. Illinois finished up with 400 yards of total offense, the bulk of that coming from 277 yards on the ground. Last season the Illinois rushing offense was ranked first in the Big Ten and 10th in the nation with 188.8 ypg and already the team is off to a quick start in two games with 198 ypg on the ground, and yet that has the squad ranked sixth in the league and 35th nationally, which means Williams is going to have to work harder at both running and passing the ball if the Illini are going to be competitive. Having placed last in the nation in pass efficiency (92.22) in 2006, the only way for Illinois to go is up at this point anyway.

Despite being nationally ranked at the FCS level, Western Illinois was no match for even a troubled team like the Illini. The Leathernecks were held to just 152 yards of offense on 55 plays, an average of less than three yards per attempt. The Illinois defense limited Western Illinois to a mere 3-of-17 on third down, and yet failed to force more than one turnover and was held without a sack the entire game. With a game-high 11 tackles J. Leman led the way for the Illinois, while Josh Brent made half of his three stops behind the line of scrimmage for the group. Last year Illinois failed to hold a single team below 17 points in a contest, so already the squad has topped that effort, but one has to consider the level of competition as well. Having beaten Western Illinois as soundly as the Illini did, it has boosted some of the team's overall stats, with it checking in at 20 ppg allowed. However, as decent as that may sound, it still ranks the team ninth in a conference that is known for being tough on opponents week in and week out.

The Syracuse offense didn't even make the trip for the rare night game at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday. The unit recorded just five first downs and 24 yards rushing on 30 attempts. If that were not bad enough, the so-called passing attack was also nonexistent with a mere 79 yards on 7-of-20 passing by Andrew Robinson, making just his second start for the program. Taj Smith showed some signs of life with 51 yards receiving on three grabs, but he was the only player with more than a single catch in the contest. After two games the Orange are ranked last in the Big East and 117th among 119 programs recognized at the Football Bowl Subdivision in rushing offense with a mere 16 yards per game. Add to that a passing offense that is posting just 139 ypg and it is easy to see how the team sits 117th in the country in total offense (155 ypg) at the moment. With a grand total of 12 points scored now, Syracuse is second-to-last in the country in that department as well. Giving up six and a half sacks per game (118th) is also a fast way to make a new quarterback a bit gun shy.

The Syracuse defense did well to limit the Hawkeyes to 118 yards rushing on 41 tries, but once the home team realized it couldn't gain much momentum on the ground it opted to throw the ball instead. The Orange secondary was more than happy to step aside and watch the Hawkeyes come up with 290 yards and four touchdowns through the air. That success also allowed Iowa to control the ball for almost 36 minutes and convert on 13-of-19 on third down, compared to 2- of-15 for the Orange in the latter department. Joe Fields tallied a game-high 10 tackles and intercepted a pass for Syracuse, while Arthur Jones registered two and a half TFLs in the setback. Fields leads the group with 16 total tackles to this point, while Jameel McClain has made a name for himself with 14 stops, one forced fumble, a recovery and half a sack for a slumping unit that is 103rd in the country in scoring defense, permitting 38.5 ppg. Having already allowed 210 ypg on the ground this season, the Orange have failed to make any improvements from 2006 when the team surrendered 185.1 ypg to rank 110th in the nation.

Neither one of these teams is very good right now, and considering how much the new Syracuse quarterback is being tossed around the Orange will be lucky to win a single game at home this season. The squad could possibly take this one, but that all depends on how well the offensive line performs.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Illinois 24, Syracuse 13