Syracuse vs. Virginia Tech Odds & Picks: Bet the Orange to Keep It Close (October 23)

Syracuse vs. Virginia Tech Odds

Saturday, Oct. 23

12:30 p.m. ET

ESPN3

Syracuse Odds
Spread	Total	Moneyline
+3.5 -113	45.5 -112o / -109u	+140

Virginia Tech Odds
Spread	Total	Moneyline
-3.5 -108	45.5 -112o / -109u	-175

Odds via BetRivers. Get up-to-the-minute college football odds here.

Two teams hope to bounce back from recent defeats as the Syracuse Orange travel to Blacksburg to meet the Virginia Tech Hokies.

There are only so many heartbreaks that one team can handle in each season, and the Orange are trying to cope after three in a row, all by three points.

Syracuse lost to Florida State, 33-30, on a last-second Seminole field goal. It followed that up with an overtime defeat to Wake Forest, 40-37. And last week, the Orange missed a 48-yard field goal to send the game into overtime against Clemson, 17-14.

Syracuse is now 0-3 in ACC play and desperate to find its first conference victory.

Virginia Tech is still sore from the spanking it received from the Pittsburgh Panthers. The Hokies lost, 28-7, and were outgained by nearly 200 yards of total offense. After starting the season 3-1, the Hokies have dropped both games since their bye week and sit at .500.

Where does the value lie in this ACC clash?

Syracuse Orange

Syracuse Offense

The Syracuse offense has vastly improved from the 2020 unit that averaged 17 points and 265 yards per game. In 2021, the Orange are putting up 29 points and 400 yards per game while averaging 6.0 yards per play.

Cuse has moved on from Tommy DeVito who entered the transfer portal this week after being benched earlier in the year for Garrett Shrader.

Shrader hasn’t lit up any defenses through the air since taking the starting job, averaging 6.6 yards per passing attempt while completing 54% of his passes. He’s proven more efficient with his legs where he has nine rushing touchdowns and averaged 5.1 yards per carry.

The Orange are a run-first offense that owns the 19th-highest rush rate at 63%. Budding star back Sean Tucker averages 6.1 yards per carry and over 135 rushing yards. He has matched Shrader, punching in nine touchdowns.

Syracuse Defense

The Orange defense should hold a significant edge against the Virginia Tech offense.

They have been a brick wall up front, holding opponents to 3.1 yards per carry and just over 110 yards rushing per game.

They don’t allow explosive plays where they rank fifth in the nation. The Virginia Tech offense hasn’t been able to produce much Big Plays this season. They also have a dominant advantage in Success Rate, EPA/Play, and creating Havoc.

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Virginia Tech Hokies

Virginia Tech Offense

The Virginia Tech offense has struggled all season averaging just over 21 points and 310 yards of offense per game. The offense ranks 112^th with averaging 4.5 yards per play this season.

Redshirt Junior quarterback Braxton Burmeister has been anything but consistent. He’s thrown six touchdowns to three interceptions while averaging 6.5 yards per passing attempt.

Burmeister hasn’t had a run game to lean on as the Hokies average 3.6 yards per carry. One of the reasons for that is he leads the team in carries with 63 while averaging 3.4 yards per rush.

Raheem Blackshear and Jalen Holston split carries at tailback, but both are averaging just above 3.7 yards per carry.

The Hokies will need to move the chains consistently and manufacture scoring drives against a Syracuse defense that doesn’t allow big plays.

Virginia Tech Defense

The Virginia Tech defense has kept this team competitive so far this season.

The Hokies own the 12-ranked defense in terms of passing Success Rate. The Hokies have allowed 6.8 yards per passing attempt, which ranks 38th in the country. That includes matchups against some of the top passing attacks in the nation in North Carolina, Notre Dame, and Pittsburgh.

The unit has forced seven interceptions this season to go along with a sole fumble recovery. Junior defensive back Jermaine Waller has an interception in four of the six games this season.

The front four have been terrific for the Hokies and allowed 4.1 yards per carry and produced 21.5 sacks in six games this season. In the last matchup against Pittsburgh, they were in the face of Kenny Pickett all game, allowing him to throw for just over 200 yards.

Syracuse vs. Virginia Tech Matchup Analysis

Toggle the dropdowns below to hide or show how Syracuse and Virginia Tech match up statistically:

Syracuse Offense vs. Virginia Tech Defense

	Offense	Defense	Edge
Rush Success	41	73
Line Yards	68	103
Pass Success	83	12
Pass Blocking**	80	88
Big Play	21	77
Havoc	38	64
Finishing Drives	60	49
** Pass Blocking (Off.) vs. Pass Rush (Def.)

Virginia Tech Offense vs. Syracuse Defense

	Offense	Defense	Edge
Rush Success	117	67
Line Yards	112	42
Pass Success	105	51
Pass Blocking**	33	41
Big Play	71	5
Havoc	80	55
Finishing Drives	114	116
** Pass Blocking (Off.) vs. Pass Rush (Def.)

Pace of Play / Other

PFF Tackling	20	64
Coverage	35	67
Middle 8	95	91
SP+ Special Teams	109	88
Plays per Minute	59	80
Rush Rate	62.8% (19)	56.2% (55)

Data via College Football Data, FootballOutsiders, SP+, PFF and SportSource Analytics.

Syracuse vs. Virginia Tech Betting Pick

Syracuse has been on a similar trend as the New England Patriots this season. Both teams have been coming up just short in big games, finding themselves left with moral victories.

Burmeister took a beating last week against Pittsburgh. Serving as the team leader in carries, those hits continue to pile up. He completed just 11 of his 32 pass attempts in that game and proved once again that this offense struggles to push the ball down the field.

The Orange defense will own a significant edge over the Virginia Tech offense that is yet to find its identity.

The main advantage that the Hokies have is that they will be playing at home. But the vibe is much different in Blacksburg over the last few weeks.

Exit Sandman.

Pick: Syracuse +3 (Play to PK)