CFB Betting – Syracuse Orange at Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Written by:
Phil Simon
Published on:
Dec/02/2020

Another reshuffle of the ACC schedule benefitted the No. 2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish, who are guaranteed a spot in the conference championship game due to the cancellation of their Dec. 12 contest. It was likely just a formality that the Irish would be there anyway and now they can complete a perfect regular season by knocking off the Syracuse Orange on Saturday. Notre Dame has won 23 straight at home and 16 in a row overall and is positioned as a huge 33-point favorite on the college football betting line to extend both streaks. Bookmaker.eu offers a generous welcome bonus (max bonus $1600)

Syracuse Orange at Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Date and Time: Saturday, December 5, 2020, 2:30 p.m. ET
Location: Notre Dame Stadium, Notre Dame, IN
CFB Odds: Notre Dame -33, O/U 52
Syracuse at Notre Dame TV Coverage: NBC

Odds Analysis

The only hope Syracuse has of pulling off the upset as a massive 33-point underdog is if Notre Dame takes a week off. That’s a possibility since the Irish had their Dec. 12 contest with Wake canceled and will next face Clemson in all likelihood in the ACC title bout later this month. Counting on a letdown isn’t the best game plan for the Orange, however. Going toe-to-toe with the Irish isn’t the best scenario either. Syracuse has just one win this season, that coming back in September, 37-20, over Georgia Tech. They’ve lost seven in a row since falling to 1-9 SU and 5-5 ATS. Finishing off a perfect regular season should be motivation enough for the Irish. They are coming off another impressive win downing the explosive UNC Tar Heels 31-17 while covering the 4.5-point line for a third straight payout. The Irish are 5-4 ATS.

Syracuse Orange

Just a few years ago it looked like Syracuse had turned a corner winning 10 games, including their first bowl appearance since 2013. In the two seasons since the Orange have combined for just six wins, further proof that it’s hard to get good and harder to stay good. This is the last chance for Syracuse to end a seven-game losing streak with no more games on the schedule. The shorthanded bunch gave heavily-favored NC State a game last week before succumbing 36-29, so you can at least expect a solid effort.

It’s been a disaster on both sides of the football, that’s usually the case when a team has just one win in 10 games. During their current losing streak the Orange has surrendered an average of 34.7 points with all but one opponent scoring at least 30 points. For the season they allow over 200 yards a game on the ground and 453.6 total yards. And that’s not good when facing a team that averages nearly 230 rushing yards per game.

The offense suffered a blow when starting quarterback Tommy DeVito was lost for the season with a foot injury. Rex Culpepper has gotten a majority of snaps since and had his best game of the season going 23 of 45 for 254 yards and two touchdowns against NC State. However, he will be remembered for an embarrassing gaffe that sums up the season. Facing fourth-and-goal with time running out, Culpepper spiked the ball. “One mistake didn’t win or lose a game. There were other mistakes made and people need to realize that,” Dino Babers said.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

If they Irish lose this game they don’t deserve to be in the College Football Playoff. Should they take care of business, like most expect them to, they likely have a spot in the CFP regardless of what happens in the ACC Championship. Don’t expect Brian Kelly’s squad to have a letdown considering what’s at stake. And if it hasn’t happened before if certainly won’t happen now. Notre Dame has won seven of its nine games by double figures, including last week’s 31-17 decision over UNC.

Aligning themselves with the ACC for this season certainly paid off for the Irish. It would have been much tougher to schedule games in the pandemic season as an independent, look at BYU for example. Beating Power 5 opponents every week certainly helped their status and playing in a conference title game is a plus. It’s also something Notre Dame has never done. “This is a goal we as a team have been preaching on since we joined the ACC, that we were going to come in here and we were going to compete for an ACC championship,” Kyren Williams said.

Williams and the offense have done their part to get there. Williams has 901 yards rushing with 12 touchdowns on the year and Ian Book has thrown for 1,383 yards and nine touchdowns over the last five games with the Irish scoring at least 31 points in all of those outings while averaging nearly 40 points. And the defense was stellar against the explosive Tar Heels holding them to season-lows in points and yards in last week’s victory.

Bet Syracuse at Notre Dame at BookMaker.eu

I can’t see Syracuse doing much offensively against Notre Dame’s top-10 defense which is why I’m leaning toward the under. However, with a trip to the ACC title tilt in the bag we’ll probably see a number of starters pulled should the Irish build a big enough lead. That will allow the Orange to get a few sympathy scores and stay within the massive spread.

CFB Score Prediction: Notre Dame 38, Syracuse 13

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