Syracuse Football: Week 9 Florida State Seminoles crystal ball predictions

Neil Adler, Contributor (7-0)

The Syracuse football squad attempts to get back on the right track when the Orange travels to Florida State this Saturday afternoon.

The ‘Cuse (3-4, 0-3) is the only crew in the Atlantic Coast Conference that, to date, has failed to capture a league triumph. Its most-recent time out, on Oct. 18, Syracuse came up a touchdown short in a 27-20 home defeat at the hands of Pittsburgh.

That’s two instances in a row where the Orange has witnessed a setback of seven points or fewer. The Seminoles (3-4, 2-3), meanwhile, headed to Wake Forest on Oct. 19 and nearly emerged victorious, falling to the Demon Deacons by a count of 22-20. FSU, too, has dropped a pair of consecutive contests, getting pounded at highly rated Clemson, 45-14, prior to its Wake Forest loss.

The ‘Cuse and the Seminoles will do battle at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Fla., with the kick-off slated to commence at 3:30 p.m., and ESPN2 providing television coverage. At this juncture, Syracuse is a fairly sizeable underdog, as odds-makers in Las Vegas are anointing Florida State as a 10-point favorite, and ESPN’s Football Power Index says that the Seminoles have a 77.3 percent chance to prevail.

If the Orange wants to have a realistic shot at earning a post-season bowl berth, then it has to garner a win at FSU. It all begins with the team’s struggling offensive line. Additionally, starting quarterback Tommy DeVito got banged up versus the Panthers, so his near-term status isn’t necessarily clear.

From a statistical perspective, the Seminoles are slightly better on the offensive side, while the ‘Cuse possesses a small edge on defense. This encounter is pretty much a toss-up, in my humble opinion. Given that Florida State is playing on its own turf, I, unfortunately, predict that the Seminoles will outlast Syracuse, by a margin of 28-24.