"This is Your Team"

The wait is almost over.

With the Syracuse's season opener with Villanova just two days away, head coach Scott Shafer and the rest of the Orange are eagerly awaiting running out of the tunnel for the first time in 2014.

"I think it's a great thing for our kids, a great thing for our community and a great thing for our University to kick things off Friday night in the Dome," Shafer said. "We've had some great memories in those situations in the past. For me, West Virginia and Louisville especially come to mind. We're just looking forward to doing more of the same and kicking off the season against Villanova.

"This is your team. Our kids are excited, as well as our coaches, to get out there and go get after it on the football field after all the work we put in between those two white lines."

The Dome experience is nothing new to a large portion of the Orange, who bring back one of its most experienced rosters in years as more than half of the Orange's two-deep comprised of seniors.

All through training camp that experience has helped foster a close knit environment amongst the team with senior quarterback Terrel Hunt being one of the leaders in that department.

"He's been a good big brother," Shafer said. "Last year was different element, where he was competing to try and get that number one spot. This year he's helping bring along the younger brothers. He's done a nice job, he really has. I think we all know Terrel has a nice sense of who he is and part of his role this year is to be our starting quarterback but to also find out who are younger brothers are on the team and how can we help them help themselves and ultimately help the team. Terrel and so many other guys on the team have done a great job, not a good job with that. I'm very pleased with his presence."