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

GAME NOTES: The final game of a three-game series between Toledo and Syracuse going back to 1999 will finally take place this Saturday afternoon when the Orange host the Rockets at the Carrier Dome.

Initially this game was supposed to take place in 2004, but Syracuse had to rearrange its schedule due to the team's Big East Conference slate. The previous two matchups took place in 1999 and 2003, and both games were won by the Orange, 35-12 and 34-7.

The Rockets come into this matchup stuck in a two-game losing skid. However, unlike most teams which look for the easy opponents before league play begins, the Rockets took on some heavy hitters in their last two matchups. Two weeks ago Toledo was narrowly defeated by the Ohio State Buckeyes, 27-22. That was followed by a more convincing setback to Boise State, as the Broncos crushed coach Tim Beckman's team, 40-15.

As for the Orange, they made some off the field news recently, as the program has made an agreement to join the ACC. It is not clear when the move will happen so for now the Orange are still a part of the Big East and more importantly have a tough Toledo team on the slate this weekend. The Orange began the year with victories over Wake Forest and Rhode Island at home, but then suffered their first loss of the season on the road against USC.

The Rockets possess a dangerous offensive attack, and that was proven in the team's first two games. Against Boise State however, coach Beckman's squad hit a wall.

As a whole Toledo finished with just 98 yards on 3.3 yards per attempt. Adonis Thomas, who has 227 yards on 6.1 yards per attempt, was bottled up for a second week, rumbling for just 65 yards. Thomas did score in the loss, giving him three TDs on the year.

The ground game has been hit or miss this season, but the passing attack has been sharp for coach Beckman mainly because he has two quarterbacks with different styles that have been effective. However, that was not the case against Boise State, as Austin Dantin and Terrance Owens both had troubles.

Dantin only completed three of his eight passes for 50 yards, with one TD. As for Owens, who is a dual-threat, finished with just 18 rushing yards and completed just 17-of-31 passes for 201 yards. Owens was intercepted once and also sacked once.

Even Eric Page had a quiet game in terms of his standards. After torturing Ohio State two weeks ago, the junior wideout and return specialists finished with just 69 yards on eight catches and had another 103 yards on six kick returns. Despite the pedestrian showing, Page is still a nightmare for most opponents and Syracuse will see his immense talent this weekend, when he comes to the Carrier Dome with 550 all-purpose yards.

Toledo's secondary did a solid job against New Hampshire and Ohio State's passing attacks, but neither team possessed a quarterback as talented as Boise State's Kellen Moore.

The Heisman Trophy candidate abused Toledo for four quarters and by the final whistle he had racked up 455 yards and five scores. While those numbers are embarrassing, the Rockets will not face a quarterback, or a passing attack on that level for the rest of the season and should bounce back starting this weekend.

The secondary obviously failed against Boise State, but now the unit will have to regain its composure by Saturday because the Orange rely heavily on the pass and will likely throw early and often hoping to exploit the team's weakness.

Through three games it is apparently that the Orange will go as far as Ryan Nassib can take them. So far the veteran signal caller has completed over 70.0 percent of his throws and has seven touchdowns against just one interception.

In the team's recent loss, Nassib completed 25-of-37 passes against USC and finished with 230 yards and one touchdown. That touchdown went to Alec Lemon, who ended the game with 72 yards on seven receptions.

Nassib has done a tremendous job spreading the ball around, but there is little doubt that Lemon is his favorite option, as the wideout comes into this weekend leading the team with 24 receptions. Lemon is Nassib's safety blanket, while Van Chew is his deep threat. Chew leads the team with three touchdowns and is averaging an impressive 16.0 yards per catch.

Lemon and Chew will be a tough tandem for Toledo to handle and it is likely both will have a big game against a secondary that is still reeling over a rough outing against Boise State.

While the passing attack has been outstanding the same cannot be said about the ground game for Syracuse, which is churning out just 76.7 ypg. The team is only posting 3.0 yards per carry, and the best option has been Antwon Bailey, but he only has 204 yards on the year.

The success for Syracuse on offense has been the downfall for the defense. The Orange were unable to stop Wake Forest's passing attack in week one, so traveling to the Coliseum to take on Matt Barkley and the USC Trojans definitely had head coach Doug Marrone concerned, and rightfully so.

Syracuse had no answers for Barkley and company, as USC's quarterback threw for over 300 hundred yards and five touchdowns. To make matters worse, the Orange were gashed on the ground as well, surrendering 175 rushing yards.

The Rockets are not exactly USC, but they possess a dangerous passing attack, so it will be interesting to see if coach Marrone can get his secondary to step up its efforts.

This has all the makings of being a high-scoring affair, as both teams rely on the pass. Page is a dangerous weapon for Toledo, but he is the only real threat, while Syracuse possesses a few reliable options for Nassib. Look for Toledo to get on the scoreboard a few times, but not enough to win on the road at Syracuse.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Syracuse 34, Toledo 24