Virginia vs. Syracuse Prediction & Odds
Conference rivals Virginia and Syracuse face off in Syracuse, NY at 7:00 PM ET on Friday night. Can the Orange win and cover the two-score spread to improve their ATS record to 4-0?
Virginia is 2-1 with wins over Richmond and Old Dominion in weeks 1 and 3. They dropped their week 2 game on the road at Illinois 24-3. They’re 0-3 against the spread this season and are in desperate need of a good showing on Friday night, or head coach Tony Elliott’s job might be in jeopardy.
Syracuse has looked great early on. They’re 3-0 straight up and 3-0 against the spread with wins over Louisville, UConn, and Purdue. Last week’s 32-29 win over Purdue featured a terrific touchdown pass with 7 seconds left to give the Orange the lead and ultimately the win.
Game Matchup and Betting Odds
307 Virginia Cavaliers +9 at 308 Syracuse Orange -9; O/U 53
7:00 PM ET Friday, September 23rd, 2022
JMA Wireless Dome, Syracuse, NY
Virginia vs. Syracuse Public Betting Information
The public is heavily favoring the Orange at -9. Our CFB Public Betting Page shows that 75% of public bets are on Syracuse in this contest. Do note that those numbers are subject to change and could be different once game time rolls around.
Virginia Game Notes
Cavaliers quarterback Brennan Armstrong had an absolutely monster season last year for Virginia. He threw for 4,449 yards, 31 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. He completed 65.2% of his passes and averaged a healthy 8.9 yards per attempt. He hasn’t been nearly as good this year as his yards per attempt and completion percentage are both significantly down. His TD-INT ratio is also worse, at 2-3. I think his talent level is closer to last season’s numbers than this season’s stats, and Friday is a chance for him to prove that. Syracuse gave up 424 passing yards to Purdue’s Aidan O’Connell last week, and I think Armstrong could have success throwing the ball as well.
Syracuse Game Notes
Syracuse’s best offensive player is likely running back Sean Tucker. He lit up the ACC last year, running for 1,496 yards and 12 touchdowns on 6.1 yards per carry. He has struggled to find his groove this year, averaging only 3.8 yards per carry on 66 totes.
The star of the Orange offense has actually been quarterback Garrett Shrader, the 6’4” 228-pound junior out of Charlotte. He’s thrown for 709 yards, 8 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions on the year. He’s also the Orange’s second-leading rusher, accumulating 201 yards and 3 touchdowns on the ground. Despite all that, Shrader only completed 44.8% of his passes last week. He’ll likely have to do better than that for the Orange to cover the number on Friday.
Virginia vs. Syracuse Betting Trends
Virginia is 8-7 straight up in their last 15 games.
Syracuse is 8-7 straight up in their last 15 games.
64% of the handle is on Syracuse -9.
Virginia is 7-8 ATS dating back to the beginning of last year.
Syracuse is 11-4 ATS dating back to the beginning of last season.
The under is 4-0 in Virginia’s last 4 games.
The under is 5-0 in Syracuse’s last 5 Friday games.
Virginia is 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games after gaining more than 450 yards in their previous game.
Virginia vs. Syracuse Betting Prediction
The Purdue game was a tremendous win for Syracuse. But they might have spent a great deal of emotional energy after that win. It’s often hard for college teams to follow up a last-second victory with an equally enthusiastic performance the next time out. Can they do it on a short week against a hardened Virginia team desperate for their first conference win? I’m not so sure. I’d lean toward the under of 53 if you want to play the total. But I’ll fade the public and take Virginia and the points because almost everyone else is taking the Orange.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL WEEK 4 PREDICTION: VIRGINIA CAVALIERS +9
