To say that the LSU Tigers were awfully impressive last week against Auburn is an understatement.
Even though traveling to upstate New York isn't the easiest task for anyone in America, this game still feels like a reprieve after two duels in the SEC West to start off the campaign. The Bayou Bengals draw the Syracuse Orange in Week 4, a team which has arguably been a lot worse than their 3-0 record would suggest.
ODDS ANALYSIS
The Tigers are unlucky not to be unbeaten for bettors this year as well, but they finished a point shy of Mississippi State in their first game of the season. Syracuse enters this one at 3-0, but it's tough to say that a 2-1 ATS mark against Rhode Island, Wake Forest and Central Michigan is all that impressive.
As a result, LSU has opened up a -23.5 this weekend, a number which has already jumped to -24.5 over the course of the week. The total has been bet up to 47.5 from the 45 opener.
KEY MISMATCH
Wake Forest and Central Michigan aren't exactly known as the best passing teams in the nation, but both have had field days against this Syracuse defense here at the Carrier Dome these last two weeks. We grant you, both teams were playing from behind virtually every step of the way, so it's natural to abandon the ground game.
But for these two teams to throw for a combined 803 yards against the Syracuse defense is frightening.
Now, is Brandon Harris going to throw for 400 yards in this game? Of course not – the guy has only thrown for 145 yards in two games. But if the Orange have to worry too much about the concept of the pass, that's going to leave more holes for Leonard Fournette, arguably the most dangerous running back in college football.
KEY STAT
11.8 – Syracuse's third down conversion percentage over the course of its last two games. You won't see that the Orange are that bad on third downs thanks to the fact that they went 11-of-18 against Rhode Island in Week 1, but LSU's defense is easily the best they have faced this year, which could cause a lot of problems.
BETTING ANGLE
The Bayou Bengals covered all four of their non-conference regular season games last season. They have yet to play a non-conference game this year after losing the opener against McNeese State due to bad weather in Baton Rouge.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
This game reeks of a blowout to us. The Orange have had five different players throw a ball this year, and it is unlikely that the man who has thrown most of those passes, Eric Dungey is going to play in this one after suffering a concussion last week. If that's the case, Austin Wilson and Zack Mahoney are going to probably split time, which isn't good for Syracuse.
Fournette has been unstoppable in SEC play, running for 387 yards on just 47 carries. We can only imagine what he is going to do if Harris can get anything whatsoever going in the passing game to keep the Orange honest.
If there was a big time game next week for LSU, we would be a little afraid of this game. However, with Eastern Michigan up next, we can't see the Tigers overlooking this one. That's bad news for the 'Cuse.
LSU 48, Syracuse 7
BookMaker opened the spread for this Saturday game at -24 in favor of the LSU Tigers. Minute-by-minute NCAA spreads, totals and props are available for this game using the live betting platform at BookMaker.
Access live betting lines from your mobile device at BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on your television with BookMaker's live betting platform. Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here, so start betting with BookMaker today! The game between the LSU Tigers and the Syracuse Orange will go down Saturday, September 26, 2015 at 12:00 p.m. ET at the Carrier Dome. The matchup will be televised on ESPN.
