Cal Is Favored by a Touchdown Over Syracuse This Week

Bears take a two-game winning streak into Saturday's home game against the Orange

Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord / Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

Syracuse has a 3-3 record in ACC play and Cal is 1-4, but the Golden Bears are favored in their home game against the Orange this Saturday afternoon.

Many betting sites have not yet posted their point spreads for the Cal-Syracuse game, but Draft Kings lists Cal as a 7-point favorite and FanDuel has the Golden Bears favored by 6.5 points over Syracuse.

Although Cal (5-4, 1-4 ACC) has only one conference win, the Bears’ offense has come alive the past two weeks in a pair of victories.  They posted a 44-7 nonconference victory over Oregon State last week and held on for a 46-36 road win over Wake Forest on Saturday.

Those were Cal’s two highest-scoring games of the season and complements a Golden Bears defense that leads the ACC in scoring defense, yielding 19.3 points per game, and is second in total defense.

Quarterback Fernando Mendoza has had the two best games of his career the past two weeks, setting personal career highs in passing yards each week.

Meanwhile, Syracuse (6-3, 3-3 ACC) is coming off a 37-31 loss to Boston College.  The Orange has wins over Georga Tech and Virginia Tech, but it also has a home loss to Stanford. Syracuse has not faced any of the ACC’s top three teams – SMU, Miami or Clemson.

Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord, a transfer from Ohio State, leads the ACC in passing yards per game (350.3) but he also leads the ACC in interceptions thrown with 12, including five in the loss to Pitt. Cal leads the nation in interceptions with 17 picks.

Cal is 3-2 at home this season, and the Bears need one win in their final three games to become bowl-eligible and two more wins to assure themselves of their first winning season since 2019.