On Sept. 9, 2017 Syracuse lost to Middle Tennessee State, 30-23, in the Carrier Dome. While Scott Shafer smoked a celebratory cigar on the stairs of the Carrier Dome, SU players admitted they were distracted by playing their former head coach.
“Thinking about Shafe is just something that people just let get to their head,” former SU linebacker Paris Bennett said. “I thought about Shafe more than I would like to.”
In the Orange’s opener against Western Michigan, the players will have a similar challenge as the Broncos head coach Tim Lester coached at Syracuse from 2013-15.