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Week 1 – Demon Deacons vs. Orange Preview NCAAF Prediction

On SATURDAY September 3rd, 2011 its the Wake Forest Demon Deacons vs. Syracuse Orange. Odds currently have the Orange listed as 5-point favorites, the game’s total is set at 49.5. Here is a preview, free pick plus the college football betting angle.

Week 1: Demon Deacons vs Orange Preview & Pick

In theory, Wake Forest doesn’t have a tough act to follow in 2011. Last year, the Demon Deacons finished 3-8, good for last in the ACC Atlantic and tied with Duke for the conference’s worst overall record.

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Date: Thursday, September 1, 2011
Venue: Carrier Dome, Syracuse, NY
Broadcast: ESPN3
Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Syracuse Orange Betting Lines from Sportsbook.com
Money Line: OFF
Spread: Syracuse -5
Over/Under: 49.5
GO INSIDE THIS MATCHUP WITH OUR ATS STATS —>

Wake Forest Demon Deacons (0-0)

They ranked 108th in the nation in total offense and 103rd in total defense.

Woof.

In theory, there’s nowhere to go but up for Jim Grobe’s squad. He’d better hope so after guiding the team to an 8-16 record the last two years. The good news for Wake Forest is that it should be one of the ACC’s more experienced teams this season; it returns 16 starters in total.

The bad news is that an already-porous defense loses two of its most important pieces; defensive end Kevin smith has been dismissed for an off-field incident and cornerback Kevin Johnson is serving a year-long academic suspension.

Syracuse Orange (0-0)

Syracuse hopes to build on a 2010 season in which it quietly contended to win the Big East, tying for the conference’s second-best record. Doug Marrone has led the Orange to a remarkable turnaround in two seasons. Last year, he got them to their first bowl game since 2004, which yielded a thrilling win over Kansas State in the first-ever Pinstripe Bowl.

Five starters return to a defense that improved by leaps and bounds last season. Syracuse quietly had the country’s sixth-ranked “D” in 2010, also ranking seventh against the pass and allowing just 19.3 points per contest (17th). Syracuse’ offense gets eight starters back but loses its bellcow runner in Delone Carter, who is currently pushing Donald Brown and Joseph Addai for carries as an Indianapolis Colt.

Don’t be surprised if Syracuse goes a bit heavier on the pass in its playcalling this season. Week 1 against the soft Wake Forest “D” seems like the ideal time to test out Ryan Nassib, who showed some potential with 19 touchdown passes versus eight interceptions last season. [soliloquy id=”82219″]

The pick:

Syracuse isn’t a superpower by any means but the Orange are 7-2 ATS over their last nine against non-conference foes. They’ll field a far superior defense against Wake Forest’s Tanner Price, who is still young but didn’t look great as a freshman quarterback.  

Nassib also shouldn’t have much trouble picking apart Wake Forest’s weak defense on his own school’s turf.

Wake Forest is 1-5 ATS over its last six as a road underdog. It looks like Week 1 may mark the start of another long season for Jim Grobe. I don’t expect this game to be too high-scoring, mainly because Wake Forest won’t score much.

The Deacs’ last five games against Big East opponents have gone UNDER the total.

Wake Forest vs Syracuse prediction: Syracuse 27, Wake Forest 10

Money Line: OFF
Spread: Syracuse -5
Over/Under: UNDER 49.5

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By Shea Matthews

Shea Matthews the Senior Writer at CP. Lives and breathes sports. He made the transition from athlete to sports journalist at a young age, writing in TV & national papers. Shea applies his knowledge to sports betting + handicapping daily, and shares winning picks with the world.