Syracuse

My book does not have a O/U win total line for syracuse, not sure if any of your guys books do, unless the number is ridiculously high i will take the over, this is a 10 win team in my opinion and even 1 slip up their a 9 win team. The ACC is not exactly having its best years, and is a relatively easy conference, syracuse has the most depth they've ever had, and are a legit 2 deep at every position. At QB tommy devito can sling the ball around, not the most mobile QB but he can move to get the ball off, throws one of the better balls I've seen, rex culpepper is a servicable backup, at RB they are legit 3 deep, all 3 guys could start in the ACC, Moe Neal, Abdul Adams, Jarveon howard, loaded at WR, nikeam johnson, taj harris, trishton jackson, sean riley plus legit speed as backups, special teams ranked top in country last season with kicker winning lou groza punter ACC 1st team, great coverage team and riley is a great returner, defensively this will be a top 3 ACC defense Alton robinson and kendall coleman both top pass rushers who will have solid careers in the NFL, sweat and black good fill in guys, tyrell richards shined in bowl vs WVu if he is half that player this pass rush will be tough to stop. Secondary hasnt lost a step andre cisco 1st team all american trill williams and iffy m (not going to even attemp his last name) are both quick and solid tacklers, LB is a bit of a concern with shyiem cullen entering supplemental draft due to bad grades, but they have two 4 stars waiting in wings so should be fine. this is a really solid team with no holes i accept them to give clemson a game and possibly be the biggest suprise in CFB this season.

Schedule

@ Liberty W

@ Maryland W

Clemson L take syracuse with the points, no way they lose this game by 3 scores

Western Michigan W

Holy Cross W

@ NC State L 50-50 game

Pitt W

@ FSU W

BC W

@ Duke W

@ Louisville W

Wake W

I have them as a 10 win team i would not be shocked if they win 12 games or if they win 9, depends which way the breaks go, last season had breaks gone there way they are 11-1. Syracuse is this years college football sleeper team

Do you have a prediction on how bad they beat Liberty?

Good luck this year.

if your betting only on S&P and their percents and win probability you'll be out alot of money, maryland at 50% is a joke, syracuse will win that by 2 scores and very easily.I've made alot of money off syracuse the last 2 seasons, mainly because the books are not very high on them for whatever reason. the key contributors they lose arent much or irreplaceable players, they had one guy drafted- a 7th round pick a DT, the guys the lost mainly some WR's a few defensive players, not many big losses

Loved the coach at BGSU and Still do.  I think they will be good this year and that they cover easy against liberty.  

NDguy, Glad you have Syr as 10 win team! I have them at 8 wins...they're retooling in a few spots. Not intending to take over but...I'll just throw some SYR notes in your thread if you don't mind. 

QB - I expect Devito to be more efficient but less explosive. He's young and will baited into bad throws. Won't have running production from this spot anymore.

RB - Won't need the QB to run. I like everything about Abdul Adams & Moe Neal and depth. Good depth here. No one person is "the speed guy" or "the power guy". (Not counting the jumbo package on the goal line.)

WR - Disappointed in recruiting. I expect to lose top guys on the board to Penn St. But we lost a couple to schools like Pitt - teams that have coaching staffs that don't know how to throw the damn ball. Meh. Need that first 4-star-talent guy to get in the program. Anyway, the talent is good enough...coaching and the system make up for lack of stars next to kids name...

OL - Another unit that is coming along slower than I'd like. C and OG's are fine if Servais can get out of the C spot and into his natural OG spot. (This bears watching, gamblers!) OT's are also concern. We brought in a JUCO and a transfer OT from South Alabama. This spot is still thin. Needs another year to build depth. Young players need reps this year.

DL - I like our DE's. Best here in a long time. Still they're "top 1/2 of the ACC" level. The DT's? Meh. They hold their ground. Don't collapse the middle of the pocket yet. I like Babers' strength and conditioning program. This staff gets the kids developed. Maybe that bears fruit this year...?

LB - I love how this is recruited. But they will be young. This will be the final year in the Babers Era where LB is inexperienced  question marks. When Phil Steel's mag comes out in 2020, I expect this unit to be the top 40ish.

DB - Speaking of Phil Steele. I expect our DB unit to rate top 30-35 this year...haven't seen the mag yet. This unit is legitimately good. 

Special teams - Best in ACC? Will always be a strength under Babers.

(I apparently have a problem keeping my post under 4000 characters and Covers doesn't allow that...so schedule is in the next post.)

SYR SCHED:

Liberty and Maryland are wins. 2-0. Too early in Locksley's tenure...even if Saban helped him figure out this coaching thing...

Clemson. Loss. By the way, might as well mention it now. Next year, in 2020, SYR will have air conditioning in The Dome  It's heartbreaking that we'll give aid-n-comfort to our enemies.  No matter what else I write, I assume this will take over your thread. Sorry! 2-1

WMU and Holy Cross. Wins. 4-1. (But Bellamy scares me!)

@ NC State - Schedule advantage for NCST: Thurs night in Raleigh. Loss for Syr. 4-2

Pittsburgh - Friday night in The Dome. WHO'S HOUSE? 5-2!!

@ Florida State - Geez, that was quick. No one has any love for Taggert anymore? I think he pulls it together this year. Even if he needs a few more games, this game shows up late in the year, Oct 26. I think he'll have it figured out by now. Loss for Cuse. 5-3.

Boston College. Just one of those damn teams. Adazzio is scary when he's coaching for his job. Preseason mags don't believe they have an OL. They do well in OL recruiting and always have a deep line. I'm calling it...loss for Syr. 5-4

Duke - Schedule advantage for Syracuse. Duke is off Notre Dame and Syr off a bye. (Gamblers topic: Is the "ND Hangover" a thing if you aren't expected to even compete with ND?" Discuss!) Win for SYR = Bowl eligibility again, 6-4.

@ Louisville - Petrino ain't here anymore to hate. I still hate you LVille! Cuse by 60! (Ok, seriously, who knows how many kids the new coaching staff has to run off by this point? Have to give SYR the win here. 7-4 

Wake Forest - First offense to run 125 plays gets the win! Babers gets to 125 plays first! I think Syr D is built to handle this type of OFF. I'll be surprised if new WF skill guys have between-the-tackles type of power.  Syr W =  8-4.

So 8-4 and good vibes for a young team heading into 2020. Coaches have to fill up a couple holes...but a double-digit wins seems more possible for 2020.

Yeah, I don't like that WMU game...

I did underrate the receivers a bit. Tristan Jackson is a Mich St transfer and had all the stars coming out of high school...our best receiver was probably a frosh, Taj Harris. Losing Custis really is addition-by-subtraction...not putting lipstick on a pig. He was known for drops and busted plays more than anything else. I'm just more in recruiting mode at the moment than evaluate-the-starting-line-up mode. 

I'd defer to Syracuse Joe - wonder what he thinks.  Dude is AMAZING in evaluating the Cuse.

That away game at FSU.....and the Orange always pull one clunker at home (while stunning teams like Clemson on the road!).  I think 10 is way too ambitious.  BOL

If i had to give a number i would say 9 wins, I think they are leaps and bounds better then boston college and florida state and really don't see either big risks for them, they'll be competitive games, i think FSU and taggart are a mess and addazio had his best team last season, if cuse beat them by 3 scores on the road when they lost quite a few really good players i don't see them losing at home

i agreed with you until the WR point but you corrected it, they are deep at Wr with playmakers, the numbers some other guys put up compared to who syracuse has know I wouldnt worry about the WR group, they just got a O line grad transfer, think your orange have alot of potential if the group matches up nicely it could be a great year for coach babers and co

just saw some books have the win total for syracuse at 5 or 5.5, i would hammer that line with everything i had, when my book has all CFB lines i will surely hammer the cuse, by far will be my largest pre season bet

Ohio should still be the class of the MAC this season.