A battle of northeast schools leads in a non-conference tilt is part of the schedule this week. The Syracuse Orange is on the road as they battle the Connecticut Huskies Saturday afternoon. The game kicks off at 1:00 pm ET from Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut. The game is televised nationally on the CBS Sports Network. The current line has Connecticut as a 3 point favorite in this contest with the over/under set at 57 points.
Syracuse dropped their second straight with a 45-20 loss at home to South Florida last week. Connecticut rebounded from a narrow loss to Navy by edging Virginia 13-10 at home last week. This is the 10th all-time meeting between the programs. Connecticut holds a 6-3 advantage in the series though Syracuse took the last meeting. The Orange took a 40-10 win in 2012 in the last meeting. Syracuse’s other two wins were vacated by the NCAA. Connecticut last won in the series, 28-21, at home back in 2011.
Syracuse jumped to a 17-0 lead after one quarter last week against South Florida. The problem for the Orange was that they were outscored 45-3 over the last three quarters. Syracuse brings a high powered offense to the field under first-year coach Dino Babers. The Orange is averaging 505.7 yards and 27 points per game. Most of the damage is through the air: Eric Dungey is 91 of 139 for 960 yards with seven touchdowns and three picks. The run game is mediocre: Syracuse averages only 3.2 yards per carry. It might be a dink and dunk kind of offense if the Orange can’t establish the run. Connecticut gives up 351.7 yards per game. The Huskies limit their opponents to 57.1 percent completion rate and 213.3 yards per game. Connecticut has to generate more of a pass rush to force Dungey out of the pocket.
Connecticut isn’t going to do a ton of damage offensively. The Huskies average just 331 yards of offense and 20.3 points a game. Connecticut gets the majority of their yards through the air as Bryant Shirreffs hit 52 of 73 passes for 555 yards with one touchdown and one interception so far. He leads the team with 160 yards and a score. The run game is putting up only 3.3 yards per carry. The offensive line needs more holes for Arkeel Newsome and Ron Johnson to run through. Facing a Syracuse defense that is tied for 112th in the nation in scoring defense should help. The Orange gives up 480.7 yards of offense and 38 points a game. Syracuse is terrible against the run: they allow 232.7 yards per game and 6.5 yards per carry.
Babers has turned the offense around for Syracuse in a short time after installing his spread offense. The problem for Syracuse is the defense isn’t ready for primetime. Their inability to stop the run is music to the ears of the Huskies. Connecticut has three solid rushing options with Shirreffs in the mix. In a game with mobile quarterbacks, you have to give the edge to the team with the better defense. Connecticut clearly has the advantage in that category. Syracuse melts down much like last week and loses their third straight. For more free NCAA football picks, come back often to get the latest picks!
Syracuse is 2-5 ATS in their last 7 road games and 3-8 ATS in their last 11 games following a double-digit loss at home.