Big East Football Previews – No. 15 West Virginia Mountaineers vs Syracuse Orange
The West Virginia Mountaineers continue their march towards a Big East title this Friday night when they invade the Carrier Dome to square-off against the Syracuse Orange in this conference matchup. Game time is set for 8 p.m. and it will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.
Date/Time: Friday, Oct.21 8 p.m. (ET)
Venue: Carrier Dome, Syracuse, NY
Broadcast: ESPN
Mountaineers at Orange lines by BetOnline.com
Point spread: Mountaineers -14
Over/Under: 57.5
West Virginia is off to a solid 5-1 straight-up start (3-3 against the spread) with its only loss of the year coming to No.1 LSU 47-21 as a 5.5-point home underdog. The Mountaineers are coming off a bye week after cruising past Connecticut 43-16 on Oct. 8 as 19-point home favorites. The total stayed ‘under’ in its season-opening 34-13 victory over Marshall, but has gone ‘over’ in its last five games.
Geno Smith leads a West Virginia passing attack that is ranked fourth in the nation with an average of 380.5 yards a game. He has already thrown for 2,159 yards and 16 touchdowns while completing passes to 12 different players along the way. Stedman Bailey has accounted for 634 yards receiving and five of the 16 TD’s.
Syracuse could be making its final go-round in the Big East after announcing plans to join the ACC. While the Orange are 4-2 SU overall (2-4 ATS), they have already lost to Rutgers 19-16 as 1.5-point home favorites on Oct.1 and do not figure to be much of a factor in the conference title race this year. The total has gone ‘over’ in four of their first six games. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
The Orange could have a very difficult time trying to match West Virginia’s firepower in this contest. Their offense is ranked 73rd in the country in scoring with an average of 26.7 points a game as compared to the Mountaineers average of 40.8 points a game, which is ranked 13th.
West Virginia is 4-1 ATS in its last five road games and 4-0-1 ATS in its last five games in the conference. The total has gone ‘over’ in nine of its last 13 games following a bye.
Syracuse is 0-5 ATS in its last five games following a SU win and 1-4 ATS in its last five games as a home underdog. The total has stayed ‘under’ in its last seven games following a bye.
Head-to- head in this series, the Mountaineers are 5-0 ATS in their last five trips to the Carrier Dome and 7-3 ATS in the last 10 meetings overall. The total has stayed ‘under’ in five of the last seven games played in Syracuse. Stick with West Virginia to keep these trends going with a road victory that covers the 14-point spread.
The Pick: West Virginia 38 vs. Syracuse 20
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