As we head into week nine, Syracuse football has dropped from the ranks of the unbeaten in the sport, but the Orange garnered a lot of respect in many peoples’ minds after the ‘Cuse had No. 5 Clemson (8-0) on the ropes this past Saturday afternoon.
In Death Valley, Syracuse football led the Tigers 21-10 entering the fourth quarter, but Clemson rolled off 17 unanswered points to prevail by a final of 27-21 over the Orange (6-1). The ‘Cuse fell in the top-25 polls released on Sunday, but only by two spots, from No. 14 to No. 16.
Next up for the ‘Cuse is Notre Dame, an Atlantic Coast Conference member in other sports, but not in football. The Fighting Irish, under first-year head coach Marcus Freeman, defeated UNLV last Saturday to improve its record to 4-3 at this juncture in the 2022 season.
Best Syracuse football bets week 9
Here’s what I like from a betting perspective as the Orange hosts Notre Dame on Saturday, Oct. 29, with the kick-off slated for noon and television coverage on ABC.
The ‘Cuse is going to cover
At the time of this writing, WynnBET had made Syracuse football a 3.0-point betting favorite in its game with the Fighting Irish. While the Orange suffered a stinging loss last Saturday at No. 5 Clemson, I think that the ‘Cuse will bounce back just fine.
Moreover, I haven’t been overly impressed with Notre Dame’s results to date. The Fighting Irish has defeated California, North Carolina, BYU and UNLV. The victory over the Tar Heels is a good one, though.
On the flip side, Notre Dame has fallen to Stanford, Mashall and Ohio State. Obviously, the Buckeyes are in contention to get to the College Football Playoff. But Stanford and Marshall are so-so in the present term.
Yes, all-time in their series together, the Fighting Irish owns a 7-3 edge. Syracuse football hasn’t bested Notre Dame since 2008. That is going to change here, and I like the Orange to come out on top by more than a field goal.
It’s close, but I’m favoring the over
WynnBET had set the over/under at 47.0 points when I wrote this piece.
That’s somewhat of a tricky over/under to call. Per ESPN statistics, Notre Dame is scoring 26.6 points per game while allowing 21.9 points. On the other side of the field, Syracuse football is averaging 33.9 points per encounter while giving up just 15.1 points, good for No. 6 across the country, according to the NCAA’s Web site.
For the Orange, running back Sean Tucker needs to get more than five carries, which is how many he had versus Clemson. At home, I feel like Tucker is going to have a stellar performance this coming Saturday, particularly if the JMA Wireless Dome is rocking.
The ‘Cuse MOB defense was lights out in the loss to the Tigers, as the Orange forced a whopping four turnovers. If Syracuse football continues that sort of a pace, then the ‘Cuse offense has to do a better job of converting shorter fields into touchdowns.
That being said, the Orange’s depth, particularly on defense, has gotten tested in recent games, so maybe Notre Dame puts up a decent amount of points. I’m a little torn here, but I’ll go with Syracuse football and the Fighting Irish to hit the over.
I like the Orange on the moneyline
WynnBET, when I penned this column, had the moneyline at -155 for Syracuse football and +130 for Notre Dame. This is a straight-up bet, with no spread involved. You would have to bet $155 to win $100 if you take the Orange (or some denomination of that).
Conversely, if you believe that the Fighting Irish is going to prevail, a $100 bet will net you $130. I’m not a big-time gambling person myself, but at the same time, neither moneyline is terribly huge, which makes sense given that the spread is only a few points.
I’m confident that the ‘Cuse will conquer Notre Dame, so I’d go with Syracuse football on the moneyline at -155.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.