The Florida State football team will stay home again this week to take on Syracuse, still looking for its first win of the season after an 0-4 start. FSU battled back in the second half but fell to Louisville, 31-23, last week in the Seminoles' third home game of the 2021 season. Head coach Mike Norvell and FSU face the Orange (3-1) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET (ACC Network).

Syracuse and FSU did not play last season due to the shortened schedule, for the first time since Syracuse joined the ACC and settled within the Atlantic Division in 2013. Sixth-year head coach Dino Babers and the 'Cuse suffered a disappointing 1-10 season in 2020, with their lone win coming against Georgia Tech. Babers previously led the Orange to a breakout 10-3 campaign back in 2018.

Heading into their matchup with FSU, the Orange appear to have returned to respectability and are playing winning football on both sides of the ball. They currently boast the No. 10 defense nationally in yards allowed per game, and they are also top-20 in the country and third in the ACC in rushing offense.

Syracuse finished up the non-conference portion of the its schedule with a win on a last-second field goal last week versus Liberty. The Orange previously took down Ohio and FCS opponent Albany; their lone loss came in Week 2 against Rutgers, but the Scarlet Knights are actually 3-1 themselves on the year.

Here's our in-depth look at the position matchups for both sides of the football and special teams, plus staff predictions for the Seminoles' fourth game of the season.

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Although McKenzie Milton has started each of the past three games for Florida State, last week was his first outing as the sole quarterback receiving snaps. Redshirt sophomore Jordan Travis started the opener against Notre Dame, and the two often rotated during the first three games. Against Louisville, Milton had slow stretches but overall was decent throwing the ball -- he passed for 248 yards and a touchdown, completing 24 of 39 passes. On the flip side, he was sacked six times. Even though Milton looks to be the clear starter, don't rule out the possibility of both quarterbacks taking snaps. If Travis is limited (he was not available due to injury last Saturday), redshirt freshman Chubba Purdy would be next in the game.

Meanwhile in the receiving corps, four different Seminoles have started so far this year, but redshirt junior Ontaria "Pokey" Wilson is leading the way. He turned in a 65-yard score against Wake Forest two weeks ago and then came up with five more catches against Louisville. The big news out of the Louisville game for the FSU offense was the connection between Milton and Andrew Parchment, who easily had his best outing of the year with five grabs for 86 yards and a score (a week after playing sparingly versus Wake). The Kansas transfer had more receptions and yards in that game than in the first three combined. Redshirt junior Keyshawn Helton has gotten off to a slow start, but FSU's coaches are hopeful he can turn things around after a stellar preseason. True freshman Malik McClain has worked his way into the starting lineup and has seven catches this season. Second-year receivers Darion Williamson and Kentron Poitier bring depth and both have joined McClain as big targets pushing for playing time.

The focus at tight end has been on starter Camm McDonald and back-up Jordan Wilson. McDonald leads with eight catches while Wilson has chipped in four grabs of his own.

In the defensive backfield, Syracuse returns three 2020 starters in cornerback Garrett Williams and safeties Rob Hanna and Ja’Had Carter. Williams was a freshman All-America last year with two interceptions and 64 total tackles. So far, Syracuse has been solid in yards allowed through the air (176 per game, third in ACC), but the unit took a collective step back last week. Liberty quarterback Malik Willis completed 14 of 19 passes for 3 touchdowns and 0 turnovers last Friday night. In fact, Syracuse has just one interception as a team so far, coming from true freshman Darian "Duce" Chestnut, the opposite starter at cornerback to Williams. Chestnut had eight tackles in his collegiate debut, and is fourth on the team with 19 total stops this year.

WINNER: SYRACUSE