Wake Forest Demon Deacons vs. Syracuse Orangemen Odds & Game Pick (2021)

The Demon Deacons find themselves inside the top 25 at #20 this week as five straight wins to start the season had the pollsters ready to pull the trigger. For the Orangemen, a couple solid wins to start the season have been overshadowed by two duds, most recently to the previously winless Florida State Seminoles last weekend in Tallahassee.

Can the Deacons stay hot on the road inside the Carrier Dome in Syracuse? Let’s take a closer look.

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Details

• Opening Line: Syracuse +7, O/U 57.5
• Current Line: Syracuse +6.5, O/U 56.5

Overview 

Despite not being the classic triple-option, Syracuse now runs a version of it with transfer quarterback Garrett Shrader; with mixed results. After an opening week road win vs. Ohio, the Orangemen returned home losing to Rutgers as 2.5-point dogs though played a solid game against a difficult Big 10 foe.

Two weeks later, in one of their biggest wins of the last few seasons, Syracuse knocked off the difficult independent team Liberty at home as 7-point dogs, despite losing the total offensive yard differential by -64. Last week, however, they gave Florida State their first win of the season, as their lack of a passing attack finally caught up with them in the shootout that was.

For the Demon Deacons, the schedule hasn’t been the toughest but they’ve handled business in all five of their games thus far. Their most impressive win, a road win at Virginia, was a game in which they dominated on the ground (+104) behind their stable of running backs in Christian Beal-Smith, Justice Ellison, and Christian Turner.

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Trends 

• Favorite 8-1 ATS in L9 Demon Deacons/Orangemen matchups
• Over on 5-2 run in L7 Demon Deacons road games

Bottom Line

While senior quarterback Sam Hartman keeps this offense chugging along, their rushing attack has been the steady force behind this 5-0 force as they just bleed games to death once up. On the other side of this matchup, pretty much all Syracuse can do is run the ball, behind quarterback Shrader and a running back in Sean Tucker who leads the ACC with 638 yards on the ground.

In this one, I like two offenses to pound the ball early and often for the clock to be ticking nearly non-stop as both of these teams look to establish their only primary weapon; the run.

Pick: Under 56.5

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