Remember when this was a Friday tradition?
Syracuse came up just short last Saturday in their opener against Penn State. The Orange came up even shorter against Northwestern in the Dome last season, losing by one point. Now Northwestern is a better team and Syracuse has to travel to Chicago. A tough game to win on the road.
Syracuse started QB Drew Allen and, while he threw two picks, he showed signs of being a guy that can throw the ball and stay cool under pressure. Jerome Smith on the other hand, found the end zone but was really stifled by the run defense of Penn State. But he runs hard so you can be sure that he will not be phased by anything Northwestern can throw at him. Syracuse will be feeling some deja vu however, as NU's starting quarterback was injured last week and is doubtful for this game. That means that Syracuse will line up against QB Trevor Siemian most likely, the quarterback that came in for the injured starter last year in the Dome and torched Syracuse on the final drive to put Northwestern up by one point. Syracuse's defense is fairly solid, it's the offense that is the biggest question mark for Syracuse. But they will have a tough task on both sides of the ball. Northwestern is probably just too talented and too physical a team for Syracuse to get a lead on and keep it. It would be shocking for Syracuse to go into Northwestern and score an ranked upset. I'm picking the Wildcats 38 to 24.
This game is available on the Big Ten Network and online on BTN2go if you have a cable log in at 6:00pm, 5:00pm local time. I'll be watching from the home office so you'll see plenty from John and I online. Hopefully Syracuse will show some growth from week 1, because really, that's all you want to see against a team you don't think you're going to win.
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