The Syracuse Orange (6-2, 6-2 ATS, 3-5 O/U) collide with the Pittsburgh Panthers (4-4, 2-6 ATS, 6-2 O/U) in an ACC bout on Saturday evening. The Orange were tagged with a home loss against Notre Dame last week. The Panthers lost a road decision to the Tar Heels in their latest action. Pittsburgh logged a 31-14 road win against Syracuse last year.
The Syracuse Orange are attempting to avoid a third straight defeat. Syracuse was greatly exceeding expectations in a remarkable string of games, going a perfect 6-0 but has since lost two straight bouts. First, they lost 27-21 at Clemson and were 1.5 point dogs in a rough 41-24 home loss against Notre Dame last week to fall to 3-1 in ACC play. Their best win occurred in a 24-9 triumph against NC State who was ranked 15th at the time. The Orange have covered the spread in three out of their last four games.
Garrett Shrader sustained an injury in Saturday’s loss. He is cleared to play but might not start. The junior QB is having an outstanding season, amassing 1636 passing yards along with a 14:5 TD to INT ratio. Freshman Carlos Del Rio-Wilson took over last week and has posted 222 passing yards in limited action and coach Dino Babers could sta rt him instead of Shrader.
The Orange will run frequently. Sean Tucker has logged several outstanding performances this season and has eclipsed 100 yards three times. The sophomore RB has filed 758 rushing yards on 5.2 yards per carry. The passing game relies on Oronde Gadsden II. The sophomore WR has collected at least 78 yards in three consecutive games and leads the squad with 671 receiving yards. The Syracuse offense has posted 24 or fewer points in three straight bouts.
Garrett Shrader to Oronde Gadsden for the score!
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— Syracuse Football (@CuseFootball) October 29, 2022
The Orange defense is their top strength. They have contained everybody. While they allowed 41 points last week it was due primarily to interceptions. The unit only allowed 362 total yards against the ND offense. The pass defense is incredible, standing 4th in the FBS while the rush defense is 63rd. Orange top CB Garrett Williams was injured last week and is out for the year. Syracuse is scoring an average of 32.6 points, ranking them 43rd. The defense is holding foes to 18.4 points, good for 19th in the country.