UConn vs Syracuse Analysis<\/h3>\n
Syracuse secured a dominating 31-7 victory over ACC rivals Louisville last week as +5.5 home underdogs. The Orange will look to carry that red-hot form into Saturday’s trip to Connecticut to face a wounded Huskies squad.<\/p>\n
Connecticut is one of the few teams that already have two games under their belt. The Huskies are coming off a 25-point victory over Central Connecticut State last weekend, and covering the spread by double digits on the road against Utah State in the week prior.<\/p>\n
The Huskies own a 6-3 advantage over Syracuse in series history, but did lose the last encounter against them back in 2018 by a 51-21 margin.<\/p>\n
Syracuse Stands Tall Defensively<\/h3>\n
It wasn\u2019t only in last week\u2019s game against the Cardinals that the Orange stood up tall defensively, allowing Louisville just 15 total first downs in that game with seven points. The Orange defense rose to the occasion several times going back to last season as well.<\/p>\n
Syracuse was 26th in the nation in overall defense last year giving up just 349.9 yards per game to opponents on average. That extended to an effective air defense also, with the Orange allowing just 8.9 passing first downs per game last season, good for 28th in the country.<\/p>\n
UConn’s Rushing Attack<\/h3>\n
The Huskies’ ground game has been key to start this season, putting up 274 yards rushing last week against the Blue Devils for 5.1 yards per rush attempt, along with 245 yards rushing the week before against Utah State for an even better 6.3 yards per rush attempt.<\/p>\n
Running Back Nathan Carter has been instrumental to that ground success this year, putting up a total of 313 yards over those opening two games with one rushing touchdown as well. Carter will need to shoulder the load once again because the Huskies will be without starting QB Ta\u2019Quan Robinson and both starting wide receivers, Cameron Ross and Keelan Marion.<\/p>\n
UConn vs Syracuse Prediction<\/h2>\n
While Connecticut does own a 1-1 record this season and surprised many with their performance against Utah State two weeks ago, we all saw the limitations of that Aggies squad on full effect last week as they were absolutely blown apart by a terrific Alabama team to the tune of a 55-0 beatdown.<\/p>\n
Utah State managed a paltry 136 yards of total offense in that game, averaging just 2.6 yards per pass attempt through the air and 2.1 yards per rush attempt on the ground, so with that in mind, it somewhat overshadows the Huskies’ solid performance against them two weeks ago.<\/p>\n
Syracuse was absolutely lights-out last week against a very good Louisville team, and we like them to continue that form in this one also.<\/p>\n
The Orange are 11-4 against the spread in their last 15 games and while this line has trended towards Syracuse over the last few days, we believe it hasn\u2019t trended far enough. We like Syracuse to win and cover on the road here on Saturday against Connecticut.<\/p>\n
Take Syracuse -23 this weekend against UConn in East Hartford.
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Happy Hour CFB Kickoff Show<\/h3>\n
Iowa has held the Cy-Hawk Trophy since 2015. Can Iowa State finally break through this season and bring it back to Ames? Join Dave Cokin, Ralph Michaels and Tony Mejia for the Happy Hour CFB Kickoff Show as we preview the College Football Week 2 slate from a variety of betting angles.<\/p>\n
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