PSU vs Syracuse NCAA Football Spread/Handicapping
The Penn State Nittany Lions will match up against the Syracuse Orange for the 71st time on the gridiron, as they open the 2013 season with a neutral-site game on Aug. 31, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Penn State (0-0) vs. Syracuse (0-0)
Date: Saturday, Aug. 31, 2013
Time: 3:30 p.m. EST
Venue: MetLife Stadium
City: East Rutherford
O/U Odds: 50 1/2
Spread: Penn State -7 1/2
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The series against Penn State is the longest in Syracuse has storied football history, with the Orange first visiting the Meadowlands in 1979, playing two games, including one against Penn State.
The Orange has a 5-3 record in the Meadowlands, while the Lions have an 8-3 record in games played at the Meadowlands. It’s last win there coming against USC in the 2000 Kickoff Classic.
This year the Orange enter a new league, joining Pittsburgh as first-year members of the ACC.
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First-year coach Scott Shafer will get a chance to put his stamp on the team with a big win over the Nittany Lions, if he can get an offense, which lost key players from last season, to get going early on.
Among those that are gone are four-year starting quarterback Ryan Nassib, who finished his record-breaking career and is now plying his trade in the NFL.
Enter Oklahoma transfer Drew Allen and Terrel Hunt who will likely battle all season long for the starting job, minus last season’s standout receiving duo of Marcus Sales and Alec Lemon. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Lucky for them, however, the will still have the luxury of handing the ball to returning running back Jerome Smith, who gained 1,176 yards on the ground last year and was nearly joined in the 1,000-yard club by teammate Prince Tyson-Gulley, who finished with 825.
There are few running back combinations in the country as versatile as these two, with both able to play the every-down role if needed.
Meanwhile, defensively, there is a lack of depth on the line, but Syracuse should be strong everywhere else.
That’s good news as they face a Penn State team that is still adjusting to second-year head coach Bill O’Brien, who will have to lean heavily on new JUCO transfer Tyler Ferguson, after losing senior quarterback Matt McGloin.
O’Brien did a great job in the first post-Joe Paterno year, guiding the school to an 8-4 record despite some of the heaviest sanctions the NCAA has ever given, so there is no doubt that his know-how will help fine tune Ferguson who has the talent to led the Lions back to distinction.
Matt’s free prediction:
This will be an interesting matchup.
With Syracuse’s own quarterback situation in flux, and a defensive line and secondary that both lack depth, it will be Penn State’s vaunted defense, which returns many of its key players that allowed just under 20 per game points last season, that makes all of the difference in this one.
Mix in the fact that Penn State is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games, and there is no doubt they walk away with a win here.
Penn State 28 – Syracuse 20
