Stanford Cardinal vs Syracuse Orange Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 09/20/24

The ACC is playing football on Friday nights, and that brings us to this week’s Cardinal vs Orange prediction. The Cardinal is 1-1 with a home loss to TCU in their season opener. The Orange are something of a team on the rise, sitting at 2-0 with a win over Georgia Tech already under their belt. Stanford is widely expected to finish last in the ACC in their first year, and making a cross-country trip for a Friday night game isn’t likely to help them avoid such a fate. Meanwhile, the Orange can hang points with anybody. This seems like a play that is a little bit too easy, but I am taking Syracuse -8.5.

The story of this game should be the Syracuse offense. With a new coaching staff that wants to play fast and aggressive, and with former Ohio State QB Kyle McCord at the helm, this offense is fun. McCord has looked great so far and he has announced himself as one of the best QBs in the conference. I do not expect Stanford to slow down the Orange much. The question in this game is really the Syracuse defense. That area is decidedly the weakness of this team, but is Stanford good enough offensively to take advantage and keep pace? Stanford has a dual-threat QB who leads what wants to be a solid offense, but I’m not so sure. They mustered barely 280 yards of offense against TCU, and while the Syracuse defense has given up some gash plays in the first couple of weeks, I just don’t think Stanford has enough to keep up. Far and away, the best unit on the field on Friday is the Syracuse offense. I am going to back them to win by two possessions. My Stanford vs Syracuse pick is the Orange to cover the 8.5-point spread.

Stanford vs Syracuse prediction: Syracuse -8.5 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable to -9.5.

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