The Syracuse Orange will look to continue their perfect start to the 2024 season as they welcome the Stanford Cardinal to the JMA Wireless Dome on Friday night.
Syracuse has been scoring in bunches behind transfer quarterback Kyle McCord, and we believe it'll continue in our Stanford vs. Syracuse predictions.
I break down the best way for bettors to approach this Friday night matchup in my free college football picks for Friday, September 20.
Stanford vs Syracuse prediction
My best bet
Over 56.5 (-110 at BetMGM)
My analysis
It’s not quite right to say that Syracuse has been surprisingly good to start the year — new head coach Fran Brown made big splashes in the transfer portal, headlined by McCord — but there was certainly a lot of uncertainty around how well the Orange would play in 2024. So far, the team looks strong, particularly on the offensive side of the ball.
McCord has lived up to his billing coming over from the Ohio State Buckeyes. In two games, the senior has thrown for 735 yards and eight touchdowns with just one early interception, a start that currently has McCord ranked 8th nationally in ESPN’s QBR metric (85.0).
It doesn’t hurt that McCord has some serious weapons to work with. Tight end Oronde Gadsden II is a future pro and has already caught three touchdown passes this year. LeQuint Allen is one of the better running backs in the ACC, and the receiving corps in general is deep, if not spectacular.
On the other hand, Syracuse hasn’t been overly impressive defensively or on special teams. They allowed 22 points to the Ohio Bobcats, then gave up an onside kick to nearly blow what looked like a comfortable win over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets last week, only holding on 31-28.
Stanford has the weapons to take advantage of that, at least to some extent. The Orange have struggled to contain mobile quarterbacks — Haynes King was one of the few things working early for Georgia Tech — and Stanford quarterback Ashton Daniels fits that bill, rushing for 87 yards against the TCU Horned Frogs in a tight loss.
Daniels also has some good weapons in the passing game, including Elic Ayomanor. But Stanford will likely need every point it can get against Syracuse, as the Cardinal haven’t shown that they can shut down a top-rate passing attack. Stanford allowed TCU quarterback Josh Hoover to throw for 353 yards, and we can expect similar productions out of McCord based on what we’ve seen this year.
Syracuse should be able to regularly move the ball against the Cardinal, and Stanford should have some success responding against an inconsistent Orange defense. That adds up to a lot of points, and has me backing the Over in Friday night’s contest.
Stanford vs Syracuse same-game parlay (SGP)
Over 56.5
Syracuse -8.5
Kyle McCord 3+ passing touchdowns
The Over is my best play of the night, but I also love Syracuse to win this game by multiple scores. With that in mind, I’m going to take the Orange to cover the 8.5-point spread on Friday night. It’s hard to see this Stanford defense doing much to slow down Syracuse’s explosive attack, and I can’t see the Cardinal keeping up the pace in a potential shootout.
The key factor in that Syracuse offense is McCord, who has been unstoppable so far this season. He has thrown for four touchdown passes in each of his first two games this year. I’m not going to bank on him repeating that performance again this week, but backing him to get at least three scores through the air seems like a safe bet under the dome.
Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.
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Stanford vs Syracuse odds
Stanford vs Syracuse live odds
Stanford vs Syracuse opening odds
- Spread: Stanford +9.5 | Syracuse -9.5
- Moneyline: Stanford +284 | Syracuse -370
- Over/Under: Over 58 | Under 58
Odds courtesy of BetMGM
Stanford vs Syracuse spread and Over/Under analysis
- Syracuse and Stanford are each 1-1 against the spread so far this season.
- The Orange are 0-1 ATS as a favorite this year, while the Cardinal are 1-0 ATS as an underdog.
- Both teams have gone 1-1 on each side of the Over/Under so far in 2024.
- Syracuse has played to an average total of 59.5 ppg this season, while Stanford has averaged a total of 54.5 ppg.
Stanford vs Syracuse betting trend to know
Syracuse has played to a total Over 56.5 points in three of its last four games. Find more college football betting trends for Stanford vs Syracuse.
Stanford vs Syracuse game info
| Location: | JMA Wireless Dome, Syracuse, NY |
| Date: | Friday, 9-20, 2024 |
| Kickoff: | 7:30 p.m. ET |
| TV: | ESPN |
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