Updated

In an up-and-down season, Syracuse remains on track to qualify for the postseason for the third time in four years.

When the Orange (4-4, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) have been up, they've been very good thanks to their defense. On Saturday, they'll face Maryland (5-3, 1-3).

Two weeks after a 56-0 rout on the road by Georgia Tech's ground-chewing triple option, Syracuse rebounded after a bye week with a 13-0 win at home against Wake Forest last week.

The Orange forced Wake Forest to punt 12 times, only one off the Syracuse team mark set in a 47-0 win at Holy Cross in 1968.

Perhaps most impressive has been the defense's performance on third down. Opponents have converted just 37 of 123 attempts (30.1 percent), the eighth-best mark in the nation.