FSU at Syracuse Odds, Free Pick Prediction

No. 17 Florida State was a preseason Top 5 team and expected to contend for the national championship and ACC title. Neither happened, but FSU can improve its bowl stock with a win Saturday at Syracuse, which needs a huge upset over the Noles and then another win next week to get bowl eligible. But the Orange are three-TD underdogs in college football betting this week.

FSU at Syracuse Odds, Free Pick & TV Info

Dalvin Cook has rushed for the 10th-most yards in @theACCfootball history.#DC4 ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/p2n07VsRau
— FSU Football (@FSU_Football) November 15, 2016

When: Saturday, Nov. 19, 3:30 PM ET Where: Carrier Dome, Syracuse TV: ESPN2

Why Bet on Florida State?

The Noles (7-3) are off a 45-7 win last Friday against Boston College. FSU started fast, jumped out to an early lead and finished with most of their starters watching from the sidelines. In their previous six conference games it had scored first only once and had trailed by double digits in five. The Seminoles got off to their best start since scoring 28 points in the first quarter at USF, opening up a 14-0 lead with touchdowns on their first two possession. The Noles had been outscored 31-3 in the first quarter over their five previous games. Against a BC defense which came into the game ranked eighth nationally against the run (106.6 ypg) and 15th in total defense (322.6), the Seminoles rushing for 180 yards on their way to 416 yards of total offense. Dalvin Cook and Deondre Francois paced the offense. Cook rushed for 108 yards on 18 carries with a touchdown and Francois tied a season high with three touchdown passes. Cook became only the second Seminoles back to go over 100 yards in 15 meetings against the Eagles and the first since Ricky Williams had 109 yards in 1980. He also joined Clemson’s Wayne Gallman as the only ACC backs to go over the century mark against the Eagles this season. Entering the game needing 127 rushing yards to eclipse Warrick Dunn’s school record 3,955, Cook will head to Syracuse needing just 19 yards on the ground to eclipse the Seminole legend. Auden Tate paced FSU’s receivers with career-highs in catches (six) and yardage (101) to go along with two scores. With FSU leading 35-0 late in the third quarter, Francois absorbed a late blow from Boston College’s Zach Allen and got up favoring his right shoulder. Allen was flagged for roughing the passer and Francois left the game with what was later announced as a shoulder contusion. He’s expected to start this week.

Why Bet on Syracuse?

The Orange (4-6) lost 35-20 to NC State last week. The Wolfpack outgained the Orange 546-218, ran 29 more plays, had a 23-minute advantage in time of possession and converted 10-of- 18 third-downs to secure the win. Backup quarterback Zack Mahoney, who started in place of the injured Eric Dungey, was 14-of- 25 passing for a career-high 190 yards with one touchdown and one interception for Syracuse. Receiver Amba Etta-Tawo added to his Orange season-record receiving totals by making four receptions for 88 yards, including an 81-yard touchdown. Etta-Tawo now has 79 catches for 1,246 yards in 2016. His season yardage total ranks 10th in ACC history. Linebacker Parris Bennett eclipsed the 100-tackles for the year with 11 stops against the Wolfpack. He’s the first SU player to hit the century mark since the 2010 campaign. It’s not looking like Dungey will play this week, either. He is getting a second opinion on the injury that caused him to miss the NC State game. Coach Dino Babers again declined to specify the initial diagnosis, but added that Dungey has not been cleared to fully participate in practice or a game. Dungey suffered the injury when two Clemson linebackers sandwiched him in the shoulder/head area on Nov. 5. He missed four games due to two concussions last season. The Orange have lost eight straight to FSU.