Stanford vs. Syracuse Prediction, Odds, Key Players to Watch for College Football Week 4

Reed Wallach | Sep 16, 2024

Sep 7, 2024; Syracuse, New York, USA; Syracuse Orange quarterback Kyle McCord (6) throws a pass in the second quarter against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at the JMA Wireless Dome. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images / Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

Syracuse will welcome Stanford to the ACC with a Friday night matchup.

The Orange have showcased a revamped roster that is putting up explosive plays on offense while Stanford is looking to make a strong showing in its conference debut. After playing a close game in Week 1, Stanford beat up on an FCS foe ahead of its BYE week, can the team go across the country and keep it competitive?

Here's our best bet for it.

Stanford vs. Syracuse Odds, Spread and Total

Spread

• Stanford: +9.5 (-110)
• Syracuse: -9.5 (-110)

Moneyline

• Stanford: +265
• Syracuse: -335

Total: 57.5 (Over -115/Under -105)

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook 

Stanford vs. Syracuse How to Watch

• Date: Friday, September 20th
• Game Time: 7:30 PM EST
• Venue: JMA Wireless Dome
• How to Watch (TV): ESPN
• Stanford Record 1-1
• Syracuse Record: 2-0

Stanford vs. Syracuse Key Players to Watch

Stanford

Ashton Daniels: Daniels struggled to pass against TCU in the team’s lone matchup against FBS foes, but he did showcase his capable legs with 17 carries for 87 yards in the team’s close loss. Can he do similar against Syracuse’s defense that has struggled to contain mobile quarterbacks thus far? Parker Navarro of Ohio and Haynes King of Georgia Tech have averaged nearly five yards per carry.  

Syracuse

Kyle McCord: The Ohio State transfer is liking his new digs in Western New York quite a bit, completing 69% of his passes for 735 yards and eight touchdowns through two games with the Orange. 

Stanford vs. Syracuse Prediction and Pick

Stanford showcased some capabilities against TCU in a close loss in Week 1, but ultimately, the team had a sub-15% win expectancy in that game. The team does minimize its mistakes and has some big play capability with Daniels as a dual-threat and a stud wide receiver in Elic Ayomanor. 

However, Syracuse has shown it has way more firepower than the typical ACC team and can find big plays down the field, which TCU exposed as a weak point in the Cardinal secondary. While it's only one data point, Stanford ranked outside the top 100 in EPA/Pass last season and TCU passed for 342 in Week 1. 

McCord will push it down the field and put up points, but I do have some questions about Syracuse’s defense and its ability to limit chunk plays. The team is 95th in EPA/Play to start the season and showed as a big favorite that teams can keep the game respectable (Ohio scored 22 on this Orange defense). 

I’ll go with the over on Friday night. 

PICK: OVER 57.5

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

Follow Reed on Twitter @ReedWallach and get all his college football bets on betstamp @rw33

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