Syracuse heads to Charlottesville on Saturday night with a chance to steady itself against Virginia, and the Syracuse.com prediction panel is split on whether the Orange can pull it off at Scott Stadium.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Saturday, with the game on ACC Network. The panel for this week includes Brent Axe, Chris Carlson, Javon Edmonds and Nate Mink.
Brent Axe is taking Syracuse 30, Virginia 24 and says the Orange can cash in if it corrects a long list of problems from last week. He pointed to Virginia coming off a 38-7 loss to Florida State and laid out the areas Syracuse has to clean up: tackling, pass rush, penalties, run defense and its own ground game. He also noted Amari Odom’s momentum after his debut as the starting quarterback.
Chris Carlson sees a tighter game but still went with Virginia 27, Syracuse 24. He called Virginia “a very flawed team” and said there is a path for Syracuse to win, especially with the energy Odom brings at quarterback.
Still, he isn’t ready to trust the Orange, citing Syracuse’s 10 straight losses against Power-Four opponents and its struggles on the road. He also raised concern about Syracuse’s kicking issues and said he doesn’t know which backs are healthy enough to do real damage against an ACC defense.
Javon Edmonds is picking Syracuse 20, Virginia 17 and says this could be the last time he goes with the Orange if they don’t win. He described Virginia as a team that can’t do much on offense beyond running the ball, and said the Cavaliers have lost both games against teams that could run it as well as they can. Edmonds also pointed to Beau Pribula’s passing numbers, noting he has thrown for fewer than 200 yards in four of his five starts, and said Syracuse should be able to generate more through the air with Odom and Umari Hatcher.
Nate Mink went the other direction, taking Virginia 31, Syracuse 23. He said Saturday is one of several games left that fits Syracuse’s range in roster spending and overall talent, and he sees this one as a test of how well the program’s scouting, player valuation and coaching stack up in a league with plenty of parity. Mink also noted that Syracuse reports 90 different players have appeared in a game this season, with more than half freshmen or sophomores, and said any win would help validate the plan as the Orange heads into eight straight games and a stretch likely shaped by attrition.
This season’s records: Javon Edmonds: 3-1 straight up; 3-1 against the spread
Nate Mink: 3-1 straight up; 2-2 against the spread Brent Axe: 3-1 straight up; 1-3 against the spread
Chris Carlson: 3-1 straight up; 1-3 against the spread
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