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Pinstripe Bowl
Kansas State vs. Syracuse
Betting Line: Syracuse -1 o/u 48
12/30/10
Nobody expected Syracuse to have a winning record, let alone make a bowl Game. They did so play playing some of the best defense in the country. Their Points against stat sits at 18.1 PPG which ranks 13th best in the FBS. The offense has thrived behind junior QB Ryan Nassib. He has passed for 2,095 yards and 16 TDs this year. RB Delone Carter has also been a force. He rushed for 1,035 yards and 7 TDs this year. The Orangemen registered their marquee win against West Virginia. They took down the Mountaineers 19-14. It was their biggest road victory in many years. Defense has been strong all year, but if they want to win this Game they need more production from Nassib and company.
Kansas State has a 7-5 record and a marquee win over UCF. They boast the 20th best rushing attack in the FBS at 206 yards per Game. Senior RB Daniel Thomas powers the offense. The 6-2 228 lbs runner has 1,495 yards and 16 TDs this year. He has scored multiple times in a single Game on 7 occasions this season. The defense has been solid at times, holding Oklahoma State to 24 points. At other times they haven’t been so great, giving up 44 to Colorado. Their key to winning rests with RB Thomas. He must have a big Game against a rock solid Syracuse defense.
What coNCerns us about Syracuse here is their inability to put points on the board. Their las 4 Games they scored 20, 13, 6 and 7 points. The only Games they were able to put up significant points on the board came against ColGAte and Maine, although they did manage 31 on Cinci. But one would think they are going to have to put up 30+ points to beat Kansas State and we just don’t see that happening. Kansas State scored 27+ points 9 times this year.
We’ll make Kansas State +1 a strong opinion here as we simply don’t think Syracuse can match them point for point.
Predicted Score- Kansas State 28 Syracuse 17