College Football Week 9 continues on Saturday night and we will see the Syracuse Orangemen travel south to take on the South Florida Bulls. The game is scheduled for a 7:00 PM (Eastern) start time and it will be televised live on ESPN. Currently the odds for the game have South Florida favored by 3.5 points, while the total sits at 52. Currently 52% of the Public is on Syracuse, while 91% is on the Under. Find out what side the Public is taking on all the games by clicking HERE.
Free Analysis: Syracuse has started to turn the corner under fourth-year coach Doug Marrone, but the Orange are still looking for their first road win of the season, which they'll try to secure Saturday night when they travel to Raymond James Stadium . Syracuse is coming off a 40-10 thumping of Connecticut last week, its largest margin of victory over an FBS opponent under Marrone. Throwing the ball has been the key to Syracuse's offense this season. The Orange lead the Big East in passing offense this season and are one of just 20 teams in the country to average at least 300 passing yards per game (308.4). Ryan Nassib has been the focal point of that attack. Nassib has thrown for 2,164 yards and 13 touchdowns while completing 65.2 percent of his pass attempts. The run game has not been needed as much with the way Nassib and company have played, but there is still talent there. Jerome Smith has rushed for 488 yards while Prince-Tyson Gulley has scored a pair of touchdowns (a team-high) and averaged 4.7 yards per carry. All in all Syracuse is putting up 453.6 total yards and 25.3 points per game which are the second and fifth best marks in the conference respectively. yracuse has also done reasonably well on defense, ranking third in the conference in total defense (329.0 ypg), while giving up 23.4 points per game. The Orange have had trouble keeping opposing teams out of the end zone giving up 21 touchdowns which is tied for the second most on the conference.
Another weekend ended in disappointment for South Florida as the Bulls dropped a 27-25 decision to No. 16 Louisville last Saturday. The loss came despite the Bulls earning a 25-21 lead on a 12-yard touchdown pass from B.J. Daniels to Andre Davis with just over three minutes remaining. Since the Bulls' 2-0 start they have lost five straight games, including all three contests in conference play. South Florida's offensive numbers (399.1 ypg, 25.1 ppg) are neither wildly impressive or all that bad, ranking near the middle of the Big East in both total offense and scoring. South Florida has also been effective once it gets into the red zone, converting 90.5 percent of its trips into scores and 71.4 percent into touchdowns. Still that hasn't translated into a slew of wins because of South Florida's inability to hold on to the ball. The Bulls have the worst turnover margin in the Big East this season at -12. Largely responsible for both the team's success on offense and struggles to hold on to the ball is quarterback B.J. Daniels. Through seven starts, Daniels has thrown for 1,693 yards and 13 touchdowns, but has completed just 55.8 percent of his passes, while being intercepted nine times. While the offense could be much worse the same can't be said about the defense. The Bulls are the worst team in the Big East in both total defense (389.7 ypg) and scoring defense (27.4 ppg). Part of the struggles are due to opposing offenses getting too many opportunities with the offense turning the ball over. The Bulls have given up the most attempts in the red zone (26) and the most red zone scores (22) in the Big East.
Free Pick: The Bulls have not had a great year, but I feel they will bounce back with a strong win in this one. The Bulls have lost 5 in a row, but this is a series they can get back on track with. The Bulls are 6-1 ATS the last 7 in the series, while the favorite is also 6-1 ATS the last 7, while the Orange are 1-8 ATS away with conference revenge off a DD SU win. Syracuse had a good showing last week vs UConn, but still this offense has been inconsistent this year and their vertical passing game should suffer with bad weather expected. Look for the Bulls to get back on track with a big win in this one.
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College Football Free Picks: Ohio State at Penn State Betting
What college football bettors need to know about Ohio State Buckeyes at Penn State Nitany Lions on Saturday (10/27/12) - a free pick from Oddsmaker Tony Sinisi with Marco D'Angelo and host Scott Spreitzer.