West Virginia at Syracuse Odds

Written by Jack Jones

The 15th-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers travel to face the pesky Syracuse Orange Friday night in Big East play. This game will be nationally televised on ESPN at 8:00 EST for all to see. The Mountaineers will be looking for revenge following a stunning 19-14 home loss to the Orange as a 13.5-point favorite last year. WVU had won eight straight in this series before that loss, and odds makers have them as a similar favorite this year.

According to the latest spreads, West Virginia is a 14-point favorite over the Orange.

West Virginia

The Mountaineers have been as advertised. Dana Holgorson took over as head coach after serving as Oklahoma State’s offensive coordinator last year, and he vowed to bring a high-powered offense to WVU. He has delivered on that promise. West Virginia (5-1, 1-0 Big East) suffered their only loss of the season against then-No. 2 LSU 47-21. They still racked up 533 total yards in that game, but were done in by four turnovers.

Aside from that game, the Mountaineers have been very dominant, with four of their five wins coming by 21 points or more. They will have nearly two weeks to prepare for Syracuse after beating Connecticut 43-16 at home their last time out on October 8th. Geno Smith threw for 450 yards and four touchdowns as the Mountaineers outgained the Huskies 541-275. The junior quarterback leads the nation’s No. 11 unit in total offense (503.5 yards/game). The Mountaineers are 4th in passing offense (380.5 yards/game) and 13th in scoring (40.8 points/game).

Smith is completing 64.0 percent of his passes for 2,159 yards with 16 touchdowns and three interceptions, simply flourishing on Holgorson’s system. Dustin Garrison has been a pleasant surprise at running back, rushing for 436 yards and five touchdowns. Stedman Bailey (34 receptions, 634 yards, five TD), Tavon Austin (42, 564, two TD) and Ivan McCartney (34, 455, three TD) are Smith’s top three targets at receiver. The WVU defense has been solid as well, ranking 17th in total defense (301.1 yards/game) and 36th in scoring (21.5 points/game).

Syracuse

The Orange have picked up right where they left off last season as one of the nation’s biggest surprises. Syracuse (4-2, 0-1 Big East) shockingly made it to a bowl game last year, and topped Kansas State in the Pinstripe Bowl. They were winless in conference play at home, but went a perfect 4-0 against Big East opponents on the road in a very strange season.

Syracuse already lost their lone Big East home game this season to Rutgers 19-16 in double overtime on October 1st. They responded with a 37-34 road victory over Tulane last time out, but were fortunate to win that game after getting outgained 471-356. Ryan Griffin went 24 of 30 passing for 320 yards and two touchdowns for the Green Wave, so you can just imagine what Smith could do to this soft Syracuse defense this week.

Syracuse ranks 96th in the country in total offense (333.5 yards/game) and 70th in total defense (397.3 yards/game). Despite their struggles offensively, Ryan Nassib has had a solid year thus far at quarterback. He is completing 64.6 percent of his passes for 1,294 yards with 11 touchdowns to four interceptions. Antwon Bailey has been a workhorse, rushing 124 times for 553 yards (4.5/carry) and five touchdowns. Alec Lemon is their leading receiver with 31 grabs for 322 yards and three touchdowns.

Betting Trends

The Mountaineers are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 meetings in Syracuse, and 7-3 ATS in their last 10 meetings overall. The road team is also 6-0 ATS in the last 6 meetings.

WVU is 4-0-1 ATS in their last 5 conference games, and 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games following a bye week. However, the Mountaineers are just 4-10-1 ATS in their last 15 games as a favorite of 10.5 or greater.

Syracuse is 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games following a bye week. But the Orange are only 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games as an underdog of 10.5 or greater, and 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games following a S.U. win.

Jack Jones is ready to help you win on the college gridiron this week. Sign up for a premium package today and start winning more of your wagers.

Other Resources:

Cover the Number

Comments

Got something to say?