The Syracuse Orange football team snapped its 11-game conference losing streak on Saturday night by beating the North Carolina Tar Heels 31-30 in Chapel Hill, N.C.

With the win, Syracuse is now 3-4 and 1-4 in the league. The Orange need to win three of their final five games down the stretch to become bowl-eligible for the second time in three years.

Part of the reason for Syracuse's win on Saturday? The play of freshman wide receiver Calvin Russell III.

Russell, who is one of the top recruits in SU football history, made a huge impact, catching a team-high eight passes for 86 yards and a touchdown. He also caught the game-winning two-point conversion in overtime.

And he's received a solid amount of national recognition for it as well in the days that followed the win.

As noted by Pro Football Focus's college database, Russell received the highest grade of any freshman wide receiver in Week 8 at 79.2

He was also the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Freshman of the Week, marking the second time that an Orange player has won that award this season. Freshman running back Shavane Anderson Jr. took it home in Week 1 following a big performance against FCS New Hampshire.

The other thing that makes this so impressive is that Russell is just seven months removed from tearing his Achilles tendon at spring practice in March.

Typically, the recovery time on that injury is much longer. For instance, Tyrese Haliburton of the NBA's Indiana Pacers tore his in June of 2025 and missed the entire next NBA season.

Not only is Russell back moving, he's back playing, and playing at a high level. As team's focus on Umari Hatcher, he should continue to get more opportunities in the pass game down the stretch.

So far, he has 16 receptions for 153 yards and two touchdowns in four games.

Syracuse will play its next ACC game on Saturday afternoon at noon ET against SMU. That game will be played at the JMA Wireless Dome and will mark the second straight year that SU has been home on Halloween.

The noon start snaps the streak of four consecutive ACC night games for Syracuse, and three consecutive night games overall.

SMU is 6-1 on the year and ranked No. 19 in the latest AP Top 25 Poll. They are coming off a 59-20 win over Cal.