Big East Football Previews – South Florida Bulls vs Syracuse Orange
The South Florida Bulls will look to snap a four-game slide this Friday night when they invade the Carrier Dome to square-off against the Syracuse Orange in this Big East matchup.
Date/Time: Friday, Nov. 11 8 p.m. (ET)
Venue: Carrier Dome, Syracuse, NY
Broadcast: ESPN2
Bulls at Orange lines by BetOnline.com
Point spread: Bulls -3.5
Over/Under: OFF
Game time is set for 8 p.m. and it will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2.
Optimism for a run at a conference title ran high for South Florida before the season started, but now it is just trying to win enough games to become eligible to play in a bowl game. Last Saturday’s 20-17 overtime loss to Rutgers as 2.5-point road favorites dropped the Bulls to 4-4 straight-up (3-5 against the spread) overall and 0-4 SU in Big East play. The total has also gone 4-4 on the year.
This team has now lost its last three games by a combined 12 points with a six-point loss to Connecticut as a 7.5-point road favorite followed by a three-point loss to Cincinnati as a three-point home favorite. The Bulls are averaging 32.5 points a game and giving-up an average of 23.1 points, but have been unable to avoid the crucial mistakes down the stretch that have been costing them games.
Syracuse is pretty much in the same boat with an overall record of 5-4 SU (3-6 ATS) but a 1-3 SU record in conference play. Two weeks ago, the Orange lost to Louisville 27-10 as three-point road underdogs and this past Saturday, they fell to Connecticut 28-21 as two-point road dogs. The total has gone ‘over’ in six of their nine games. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
The problems with Syracuse have been across the board with an offense that is ranked 66th in the nation in scoring with an average of 26.7 points a game and a defense that is ranked 63rd in points allowed; giving-up an average of 26.9 points a game.
South Florida is 0-5 ATS in its last five games as a favorite and 0-6 ATS in its last six games in the Big East. The total has stayed ‘under’ in five of its last seven games on the road.
Syracuse is 1-4 ATS in its last five conference games and the total has stayed ‘under’ in 12 of its last 17 games in the Big East.
Head-to-head, the Bulls are 5-1 ATS in the last six meetings but Syracuse came out on top 13-9 last season as an eight-point road underdog. Stick with the Orange and the 3.5 points at home as this time South Florida gets the straight-up win as the favorite, but once again fails to cover the spread.
The Pick: South Florida 16 vs. Syracuse 13
