Syracuse heads to Raleigh on Saturday with a noon kickoff against North Carolina State at Carter-Finley Stadium, and the Syracuse football staff’s prediction panel is leaning Orange across the board.
Brent Axe sees a comfortable finish for Syracuse, picking the Orange to win 34-17 and cover the spread. His read: Syracuse finally breaks out of the one-score pattern and “drops the hammer on an opponent not named New Hampshire for the first time this season to get one game away from bowl eligibility.”
Chris Carlson also has Syracuse winning and covering, but with a tighter margin, 27-21. He points to the way the player compensation era has reshaped the ACC and says few teams have felt that more than N.C.
State. Carlson noted the Wolfpack lost Kevin Concepcion to Texas A&M two years ago, with Concepcion going on to become a first-round draft pick and ranking second in the NFL among rookie receivers.
That same offseason, N.C. State also lost Kendrick Raphael to SMU, where he is now one of the ACC’s top rushers.
Carlson added that this offseason brought another wave of departures for the Wolfpack, including Hollywood Smothers to Texas, left tackle Jacarrius Peak to South Carolina and linebacker Kenny Soares to Michigan State. He said those losses have left N.C.
State desperate enough for money that the school fired the winningest coach in program history, Dave Doeren, in the hope that former NFL star and notable alum Philip Rivers will help energize alumni support. Carlson also noted that Rivers has never been a head coach above the high school level, though he does have an elite quarterback prospect for a son.
Javon Edmonds is on Syracuse as well, forecasting a 30-17 Orange win and a cover. He wrote that the Wolfpack’s season is over and said that when a head coach is fired, an athletic director can only hope it sends the message that the season has been unacceptable.
In his view, that message has not reached the program. Edmonds pointed to N.C.
State’s home loss to a rival last week and said the biggest issue is the same one that led to Doeren’s firing: “There is no talent aside from quarterback C.J. Bailey.”
Edmonds believes Syracuse should look much better on the road than it did against Clemson. He also said that if the Orange loses Saturday, “it’d be safe to say the season is over, and public opinion will not be in favor of the coaching staff.”
Nate Mink rounds out the panel with Syracuse 28, N.C. State 17, and he, too, expects the Orange to cover.
Mink said he’s “giving some serious side eye to that three-point spread.” He also noted that N.C.
State has been hit hard by injuries all season and will be without linebacker Popo Aguirre and safety Ronnie Royal III on Saturday.
Mink added that new Wolfpack coach Philip Rivers is expected to have his contract formally approved by the board of trustees on Friday, and suggested he may make the required public appearance at Saturday’s game to “stir the masses.”
Through nine picks this season, Mink is 6-3 straight up and 6-3 against the spread. Carlson is 5-4 straight up and 3-6 against the spread. Edmonds is 4-5 straight up and 6-3 against the spread.
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