NCAA Football
2007-08-31 - Washington at Syracuse
A Sports Betting Pick by PlayForDays
syracuse Orangemen
Syracuse comes into this season off of a bad 4-8 year in 2006.
Offensively they struggled to both protect the quarterback and throw the football. Part of the reason for the struggles was that QB Patterson and most of the veteran offense were recruited to run the option by former HC Pasqualoni.
Greg Robinson took over and immediately went to a West Coast style of offense which was not a good fit for his players. Now in his 3rd year, Robinson has his recruits to run the West Coast offense.
Syracuse has talent at the RB and WR positions in junior RB Curtis Brinkley, WR Mike Williams and senior WR Taj Smith. Smith was very productive in the first 4 games last year before he was lost for the season by injury.
Rice Moss (cousin of NFLer Randy Moss) rounds out the receiving corps. All 3 guy are 6’1” or taller and have plenty of talent.
The big question right now is sophomore QB Andrew Robinson will step in and lead this team. He has plenty of talent around him and if he can doesn’t make a habit of turning the ball over, the Orangemen should add to their season passing TD’s this year (12 last season).
Robinson is big (6’3” 225) and possesses a strong arm so the future is bright for the offense. The offensive line must improve from their 45 sacks allowed last year if they are to be competitive.
On defense, the front 4 is a major strength with all league DE Jameel McClain returning for his senior year. He led the Big East in sacks last season with 9 ½ sacks. Syracuse as a team sacked the quarterback 34 times last season and could improve on that number this year.
Their LB corp. is all new, but they do have both starting safeties returning to support the back 7. If the lineman can keep pressure on the quarterbacks it will take a lot of pressure off of the new starting cornerbacks (although they are both upperclassmen).
washington huskies
On offense for Washington their hopes rest on sophomore QB Jake Locker. He is the future of program and is touted as a bigger, stronger, faster version of former UW QB Marques Tuiasasopo.
This will be his first year as a starter so he is sure to have plenty of growing pains. He will look to hand off often to returning senior RB Louis Rankin. Rankin is the only RB on the roster with any meaningful experience, so he will see the bulk of the work.
Washington is hoping that 2005 recruit RB J.R. Hasty can keep his head on straight enough to get on the field. He was academically ineligible last year after red-shirting in 2005.
At WR the Huskies are hoping for a lot out of junior college transfer Marcel Reece (6’3” 230). Along side of him will be one of 3 returning seniors, although none carry any kind of strong resume. The offensive line returns 3 who were solid pass protectors, but really struggled to open any running lanes.
Defensively, the Huskies are much like Syracuse in that they are strong on the offensive line and weak at LB and CB. The only real difference is DE McClain for Syracuse and the fact that both starting safeties return for the Orange. Otherwise, they are almost identical.
the verdict
Here is how I see it:
Offense: Advantage Syracuse - with more returning/proven talent at the skill positions and superior height advantage at WR vs. Husky DB's.
Defense: Even – maybe a slight advantage to Syracuse because they will have the best player on the field.
Intangibles: Huge advantage Syracuse – They have a huge advantage playing at home on a Friday night to start their season. The crowd will be raucous and it will be a difficult test for first time starter Locker.
Some other tidbits taken from another source:
Syracuse is 18-2-2 ATS versus non-conference teams at home.
Washington 3-14 ATS versus non-conference teams.
Gooner’s Statistical Value Bet
I'll go for the home dog here and gladly take +3 1/2 point with Syracuse.
