South Florida at Syracuse – Preview and Prediction
USF 14.5 SYRACUSE (73.5)
Implied Projected Score: USF 44 Syracuse 29.5
MEGALOCKS LINE – USF 11
The Game
Oh goody. Syracuse just finished getting smoked by Louisville and now get the JUGGERNAUT South Florida Bulls coming to town. The Orange are not as bad as they looked last week but they face another really good team with a similar explosive style.
The Match-Up
South Florida offense vs Syracuse defense
The Bulls have started out on fire with 104 points in their first two games. That includes destroying Northern Illinois 48-17. QB Quinton Flowers is a fantastic dual threat QB and is averaging over 10 yards per ATTEMPT so far in 2016. Hey. Just in case you need more firepower – stud RB Marlon Mack is back this week. After watching Syracuse give up a comically comical 845 yards last week we really have no idea what to expect this week. But one thing is certain. Points. I would not want to be the cheerleader that has to do push-ups every time the offense scores.
Syracuse offense vs South Florida defense
The Orange are building something. We really like QB Eric Dungey and think that HC Dino Babers is going to get these guys winning a lot of games in the near future. We just do not see them keeping up with South Florida in this game. They are ranked 115th in sacks allowed per game and 123rd in TFL allowed per game and think that they will have too many negative plays. So Flo is very good on defense.
MEGA morsels
South Florida has Florida St on deck so it seems that the optimal scenario is to get a gigantic lead and then rest up guys like Marlon Mack….The Bulls are ranked #1 in red zone offense so far….uh oh….Louisville just scored again on Syracuse…..88 yard QB sneak untouched.
Summary
Be aware of our bias. We really like South Florida. Love the HC. Love their young stars. Having said that, the point spread is a bit high in our view so as much as we would love to put 890,000 imaginary Twitter units on this one we have to take a pass. The total would have been good anywhere in the 60s but sadly it looks like “Vegas” did a good job with this game. The BACKDOOR will be open and want no part of that sweet action.
Conclusion
Official play: None
Lean: None