Barring an epic collapse, No. 3 Clemson is going to win the ACC Atlantic Division for the second year in a row and play in the conference championship game after a big win last week over Florida State. But the Tigers can’t afford a letdown this week against a good Syracuse offense and with the Orange off their bye. Clemson is still nearly a four-touchdown favorite in college football lines.
Let’s Take a Look at the Syracuse at Clemson Free Pick, Betting Spread & TV Info
When: Saturday, Nov. 5, 3:30 PM ET Where: Memorial Stadium, Clemson TV: ESPN2 Stream: WatchESPN Radio: Syracuse / Clemson Opening NCAA Football Lines: Clemson -27 (61)They have a perfect record, they’re striving for perfection and when teams have that they’ll fight down the stretch to keep that perfection. pic.twitter.com/MhFBkPNP9S
— Syracuse Football (@CuseFootball) October 31, 2016
Why Bet on Syracuse?
Syracuse (4-4) is coming off an open week and back-to- back wins over Virginia Tech and Boston College. The Orange beat the Eagles 28-20 behind three TD passes from QB Eric Dungey. The victory snapped the Orange’s eight-game ACC road losing streak and raised their record to 3-1 against the Eagles since joining the conference in 2013. Dungey finished the afternoon 32-of- 38 for a career-high 434 yards, the second-best, single-game passing yardage total in the Syracuse annals. Amba Etta-Tawo had 10 catches for 144 yards. Steve Ishmael hauled in a personal-best eight passes for 108 yards. Syracuse tallied 532 yards of total offense, the fourth time in eight games it eclipsed the 500‐yard mark, and outgained the Eagles 532‐287 in the game, a margin of +245 yards. Orange head coach Dino Babers improved his career coaching record to 35‐3 when leading at the half and 34‐0 when This opening line is larger than the previous biggest that Syracuse faced this year by 10 points. Syracuse did win that game against Virginia Tech, when the Orange opened as a 17-point underdog. Just don’t bet on SU to win this game straight up, says Babers: “This is an excellent, excellent football team. There are no weaknesses,” he said of Clemson. “We would have to play our best game. They’d probably have to play not their best game. … If we can get a couple bounces our way, then maybe, maybe we have a chance. But don’t bet the house on it, brother.” Babers gave struggling kicker Cole Murphy a vote of confidence Monday, saying he will continue to be the team’;s primary kicker. Murphy started the season 6-for- 7 on field goals but is 2-for- his-last- 8.Why Bet on Clemson?
The Tigers (8-0) should now roll to the ACC title game after winning at No. 12 Florida State 37-34 on Saturday as there are no ranked teams left on Clemson’s schedule. It is the fifth win by seven points or fewer this season for Clemson and gives it a 16-2 record in nine seasons under Coach Dabo Swinney when winning by less than a touchdown. The win extends Clemson’s regular season winning streak to 22 games and gives it consecutive victories over Florida State for the first time since winning three in a row from 2005-07. Deshaun Watson completed 27 of 43 passes for 378 yards with two touchdowns and a pair of interceptions. His 34-yard pass to Jordan Leggett and 2-point conversion with 2:06 remaining gave Clemson the lead. Watson also had 52 yards rushing on 17 carries, and Leggett had 122 yards on five receptions. Clemson’s win was its seventh over a top-25 team in its last eight opportunities. Clemson is now 8-0 for just the sixth time in school history, the second year in a row. Clemson’s senior class is now No. 2 in total victories with 43. The record is 46 by the 2015 seniors. The Tigers lost the turnover margin on Saturday, yet won the game. Since the start of the 2015 season, Clemson is 9-1 when losing the turnover battle. Clemson posted 511 yards of total offense and is now 89-1- 1 as a program when achieving at least 500 in a game. Clemson has an active 20-game home winning streak, best in the country. This is just the fifth meeting between Clemson and Syracuse. Since Syracuse joined the ACC in 2013, Clemson has won all three games by at least double digits.
