The Syracuse Orange (1-7 overall, 1-6 ACC) visit the Louisville Cardinals (2-6, 1-6) in an ACC game under the lights at Cardinal Stadium Friday. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. ET. Below, we analyze the Syracuse-Louisville college football betting odds and lines, with picks and predictions.
Syracuse at Louisville: Betting odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:13 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Syracuse +650 (bet $100 to win $650) | Louisville -1000 (bet $1,000 to win $100)
- Against the spread/ATS: Syracuse +19.5 (-110) | Louisville -19.5 (-110)
- Over/Under: 55.5 (O: -1060 | U: -115)
Syracuse at Louisville: Three things to know
- Syracuse was off last week but is riding a five-game losing streak into this contest at UL. Over that stretch, SU has scored more than 21 points just once. The Orange head into Friday’s tilt averaging just 18.2 points per game (113th FBS).
- Louisville lost 31-17 at Virginia Saturday, and the Cardinals head into this one having lost two in a row and six of their last seven. Over those seven games, the Cardinals have been gashed for 207.6 rushing yards per game. For the season, UL ranks 94th against the rush (196.5 yards per game).
- Cardinal Stadium operations staff would do well to make sure all the scoreboard bulbs are fresh for this one. Orange-Cardinals games of recent vintage have been high-octane affairs. The winning team has scored over 50 points in each of the last four meetings in the series; 323 combined points were tallied over those four games.
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Syracuse at Louisville: Odds, betting lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Louisville 38, Syracuse 24
Money line (ML)
The analysis on this one — on the ML, ATS and O/U plays — is 100% price-related. The Syracuse offense is a legitimate bottom-quartile bunch in any kind of measure. It is an SU offense, though, that is due some upside regression in the red zone (Syracuse ranks 121st in FBS, scoring on just 64.7% of its red-zone opportunities). The Louisville defense has been gashed by big plays but is an otherwise capable group and one better than what’s indicated by recent troubles.
The Orange defense has credible numbers in preventing big plays, and that’s a key to staying within a couple of scores of UL. Still, the Cardinals are a worthy favorite — at -375 or -13 points. TAKE SYRACUSE +650 for the possibility of better than a 6-to-1 return on your investment.
Against the spread (ATS)
The Orange have logged two ATS wins by comfortable margins over their last three games. This one may not be as comfortable, but SU is the lean: BACK THE ORANGE +19.5 (-110).
Over/Under (O/U)
The Over is 4-1 in the last five meetings between the Orange and Cardinals. Overall, the upside of the number is 7-0 over Louisville’s last seven games as a favorite.
Recent possession numbers for both SU and UL are slightly lower than what we should expect Friday night. The last three meetings between the Orange and Cards have averaged 29.3 total possessions per contest. A PLAY ON THE OVER 55.5 (-106) IS RECOMMENDED.
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