This Saturday’s ACC tilt is a tough one to decipher with both the Syracuse Orange and Miami Hurricanes each in major letdown spots after coming up with huge wins last time out. Cuse shocked the world by ousting No. 2 ranked Clemson 27-24 as enormous 24-point underdogs. The Canes pulled out an exhilarating 25-24 last second win over Georgia Tech to remain undefeated. Something will have to give when these programs lock horns Saturday afternoon.
This contest in Week 8 of the regular season will go down Saturday, October 21, 2017, at 3:30 p.m. ET at Hard Rock Stadium. This game will be broadcast live on ESPN.
College Football Opening Odds at BookMaker.eu
Syracuse +14.5
Miami -14.5
Odds Analysis
The betting public is initially of the belief that Dino Babers' kids will enter this one ready to play regardless of the fact that it just pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the history of college football. Syracuse went off the board as +1300 underdogs to win the game, and became the first of 48 other previous teams in the ACC dating back to 2005 closing in that range to pull an upset of that magnitude. Even with that the case, early betting finds just over 63 percent of the handle riding the visitors against a Miami squad its 0-5 straight up and 1-4 against the spread against over the last five meetings. Off a huge win like that, I fully expect more Syracuse money to funnel in with the public wagering on what they just witnessed.
Player to Watch
Eric Dungey – Talk about playing with confidence! The Orange’s QB1 just ripped the No. 19 ranked pass defense in the country for 278 and three touchdowns. In doing so, the junior has now thrown for 2,080 yards and a 12:4 TD/INT ratio. On top of that, the dual threat has also rushed for 386 yards and eight touchdowns after ripping off 21 carries for 61 yards last Friday night. Miami has a pretty solid pass defense ( No. 38 ), but leaves a bit to be desired defending the run ( No. 70 ). Should the Hurricanes find a way to limit Syracuse through the air, it likely will have its hands full trying to thwart both Dungey and Dontae Strickland on the ground.
Key Stat
7.5 – Syracuse ranks amongst the top-50 in average time of possession holding onto the ball just over 31 minutes per game. Meanwhile, only eight teams have been worse at holding onto the pigskin than the Hurricanes. The Orange averaging nearly eight third down conversions per game is one of the main reasons why Babers’ kids have successfully been able to play keep away. Not surprisingly, Miami ranks amongst the worst in the country moving the chains ( No. 120 ). Should the visitors be able to mimic or even improve upon both of those stats, it’s simply impossible to fathom the Canes being able to topple this inflated number.
Free ATS Pick
In Dino I trust. I’ve come away extremely impressed with the improvement in the Orange program since he arrived. Having already matched its win total from a season ago, I’m not ready to jump off this money train just yet. Syracuse has already gone into Death Valley ( LSU ) and NC State and come out with wins against the pointspread. Each game saw them fall into big first half holes, but they battled back in the final 30 minutes of each game to come out the spread winner. That’s telling off a program headed in the right direction. Off such a huge comeback win over the Ramblin’ Wreck, I’d be shocked if Mark Richt’s club comes out firing. I foresee this being a battle to the end with Syracuse’s ball control attack fully being able to match points. Just be sure to check weather reports first, as I’d much rather see this game take place on a dry track before getting involved.
College Football Odds: Hurricanes 31, Orange 26
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