The USA sportsbooks spread favors Syracuse Orange to beat the West Virginia by one measly point. WVU finished fourth in the Big 12 with an 8-3 record (6-3 in conference play). Additionally, the Neers went 6-3-2 against the spread, per the best online sportsbooks. They wrapped their regular season with a 56-59 loss to Oklahoma as three-point home dogs. This will be West Virginia’s first bowl appearance since 2011 when they beat Clemson 70-33 in the Orange. How the mighty have fallen.
Syracuse finished second in the ACC’s Atlantic division. The Orange went 9-3 (6-2 in conference play) and 8-4 ATS during the regular season. They’re coming off a 42-21 win over Boston College as five-point road dogs. This will be Syracuse’s first bowl berth since 2013 when they bested Minnesota 21-17 in the Texas Bowl.
Betting West Virginia
Starting QB Will Grier has 37 TDs and eight picks on 3864 passing yards. He connected more often with Gary Jennings and David ‘Window’ Sills. The receiving duo has a combined 28 TDs on 1813 yards. Of course all of that’s moot now since Grier will skip the Music City Bowl. Offensive tackle Yodny Cajuste will skip the game as well. That’s a blow to WVU’s online betting sports chances, to say the least. Jack Allison is expected to take over under center. “Jack’s an older guy now, and he’s understanding the game,” Grier said. “It’s good, healthy dialogue. We’ve all gotten better.” Allison has completed 60% of his passes this season. But then he has thrown just 10 passes. Kelby Wickline is expected to replace Cajuste.
Betting Syracuse
Starting QB Eric Dungey has 17 TDs and seven picks on 2565 passing yards. Jamal Custis and Sean Riley have nine TDs on 1559 receiving yards between the two. Moe Neal has five TDs on 827 rushing yards.
You surely have heard the expression “have (blank, will travel).” For the Orange it’s “have fans, will travel.” “We’re off to a really good start,” Syracuse athletic director John Wildhack said. “One week into this thing we’ve sold 70 percent of our allotment so the reaction has been absolutely terrific. I can’t recall (how big the allotment was), but it was a good size.”
West Virginia vs. Syracuse Orange – Camping World Bowl Betting
- Date: December 28
- Time: 5:15 p.m. ET
- Venue: Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL (Camping World Bowl)
Lines from GTBets.eu:
- SYRACUSE -1 (-110) 67 (-110) -117
- WEST VIRGINIA +1 (-110) 67 (-110) -103
- West Virginia is 4-1 ATS in their last five non-conference games
- West Virginia is 2-5-1 ATS in their last eight Friday games
- West Virginia is 0-5 ATS in their last 5 bowl games
- West Virginia are 5-2 ATS in their last seven meetings in Syracuse and 1-4 ATS in their last five meetings
- The Orange are 4-0 ATS in their last four games on turf
- The Orange are 4-1-1 ATS in their last six non-conference games
- The Orange are 4-1 ATS in their last five games overall
- The over is 5-2 in Orange last 7 games overall
- The over is 5-0 in Mountaineers last 5 games overall
It's official! @CuseFootball and @WVUfootball will square off in this year's #CampingWorldBowl! https://t.co/GjcN78fwwk pic.twitter.com/XtYLYjcHZy
— Pop-Tarts Bowl (@PopTartsBowl) December 2, 2018
Our Game Prediction: West Virginia ranks No. 9 in points per game (42.3) and 60 in points allowed per game (26.5). Syracuse ranks 12th (40.8) and 72nd (27.8) respectively. This would be what we in the USA sportsbooks biz call a shootout. It would also be as close as the point spread indicates. And I say “would” because, in WVU’s case, such firepower was due in no small part to Grier. As a matter of fact, he threw three TD passes or more in nine of his 11 games. Without Grier in the starting lineup, this spread should be bigger than it is. I see Syracuse winning by just than one more point.