Northwestern Wildcats at Syracuse Orange
Saturday, September 1, 2012, 12:00 pm Eastern, TV: ESPN2
Carrier Dome – Syracuse, New York
Opening Line: Northwestern -1
Current Line: Pick
Opening Total: 55
Current Total: 53 1/2
Opening Money Line: Northwestern -120 / Syracuse Even
Current Money Line: Northwestern -115 / Syracuse -105
Syracuse and Northwestern meet for the tenth time ever Saturday in the Carrier Dome. Syracuse leads the series 5-4, including 3-0 in the Carrier Dome. The Orange won the last meeting in 2009 37-34. This is the third game in a four game series that will conclude next season in Evanston.
The Northwestern Wildcats, coached by Pat Fitzgerald, were 6-7 last year and lost in the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas 33-22 to Texas A&M. The Wildcats won their first two games, lost 5 in a row, won 4 in a row, and lost their last 2 games of the season. Every loss was by 18 or less, and 6 of the 7 losses were by 11 points or less. Michigan beat the Wildcats 42-24, but even in that game Northwestern was up 24-14 at halftime. The Wildcats won at Nebraska 28-25, but lost at Army 21-14. The Wildcats were 5-8 ATS and the total was 6-7 last year.
Syracuse, coached by Doug Marrone, finished 5-7 last year. The Orange started off 5-2 including wins over bowl teams Wake Forest, Toledo, and West Virginia. The Orange routed then #15 West Virginia 49-23, but never won another game for the rest of the season. The 5 game losing streak kept the Orange out of a bowl game. Syracuse was 3-9 ATS and the total was 8-4 last year.
Junior Kain Colter takes over as the starting quarterback for Dan Persa. Colter is the leading returning passer, rusher, and receiver as he had almost 1,800 combined yards and 12 touchdowns. Venric Mark will be the top running back. Northwestern led the Big Ten in passing last year.
The Wildcats return six starters on defense from a unit that allowed 27.7 points per game last year. The entire defensive line returns led by tackle Brian Arnfelt and end Quentin Williams.
Syracuse quarterback Ryan Nassib returns after throwing for over 2,600 yards and 22 touchdowns. His top receiver Alec Lemon also returns. He had 68 catches, 834 yards, and 6 touchdowns.
Syracuse returns 8 starters on defense, including all three linebackers, led by Marquis Spruill and Dyshawn Davis. Safety Sharmarko Thomas will anchor the secondary.
Northwestern is 7-16 ATS overall, 5-15 in September games, 5-2 in road games, and on field turf. The Wildcats have won six straight season openers. Syracuse is 9-4 in non-conference games and in September, 1-4 on fieldturf, and 0-5 overall. The last 5 Northwestern games have gone under, and the last 5 Syracuse games have gone over.
Both these teams pulled off big upsets last year, and also had puzzling defeats. They both struggled on defense giving up around 28 points a game. It will be interesting to see how Colter does as the full time starter. Also, who is he going to throw the ball to? Colter loses his top 3 receivers, including himself. I can see a lot of points scored and I think these teams are pretty evenly matched. So do the odds makers as the game is a pick. I am leaning towards Syracuse because they are playing at home, but this game could go either way.
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