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West Virginia Camping World Bowl Quick Predictions

Syracuse and old rival West Virginia meet again.
Syracuse, after by all accounts having an unbelievable, miracle season, heads to Orlando and the Camping World Bowl to face West Virginia, a team that came up just short in heading to the Big XII title game. Syracuse itself came up a couple 4th quarter leads from only losing to Notre Dame. Now Syracuse has a chance to win ten games for the first time in a season since 2001, my freshman year.
Syracuse has had an outstanding year in terms of results. And while the offense has been great for most of the season, the defense stepped up in several key moments of the season, and Special Teams (with Lou Groza Award winner Andrew Szmyt) somehow kept Syracuse in a lot of games. West Virginia had a great year, only also losing three games. But here is the thing. West Virginia won't have starting QB Will Grier at the helm of their offense. And the backup doesn't have Gary Jennings to throw to either. So the top two offensive players for West Virginia is out. That's not to say Syracuse isn't down a couple defensive players either, but that at least should help the Syracuse defense limit what West Virginia is able to do. Two things will make the difference today. Will Dungey be the Dungey we know he can be, and make play after play, and can Syracuse win the turnover battle for one more game? If Syracuse is able to move the ball with Dungey and get out to a big of an early lead, I think this game will be over in the first half. Not only that, but scoring off turnovers will prevent West Virginia from getting back in the game. West Virginia will have success if they are able to get to Dungey and sack him or even knock him out of the game like Notre Dame earlier this year. Syracuse will need to protect Dungey at all cost. But like I said, if Syracuse is able to get turnovers, and Dungey is going to do what he does, Syracuse should be able to get a nice early lead against a QB (whichever one it is) from West Virginia playing a total of 11 actual snaps all season. This is a rivalry Bowl Game, and Syracuse has a little history, winning the last two games against West Virginia, including the Pinstripe Bowl in 2012. With the starting QB out, I'm taking Syracuse 41 to 31.
This game is available on ESPN / WatchESPN at 5:15pm. John is reporting live from the Bowl. I'll be in the Command Center. It's not that often we see ten win seasons, but we may have one on our hands here. Enjoy it if it happens. And know, no one is laughing at Syracuse Football anymore.

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Arkansas State - Syracuse Preview

Syracuse students agree: They have to win this one because this isn't a good team.
Syracuse has had a rough go their last two games. But a cupcake comes into the Dome to cure what ails you. The only real scoring threat on Arkansas State is Ty Cockfield, who averages over 20 points a game and hits just under 44% from long range. Syracuse must find and shut him down. He leads their league in scoring. The good news is Syracuse should dominate the boards a little more than against Buffalo. Either just because they will focus more on rebounding, or Syracuse is just a more athletic team. Look, this game can only go one of two ways. Either Syracuse dominates a team that they actually should dominate (unlike Buffalo, which actually is a good basketball team), or they really don't find the offense and sink into a ten year low as a program. The first is much more likely, but no possibility is off the table for this team. Either way, we're at a critical point of the year, where the team has to start trending up to go into the ACC league play. Either way, I think Syracuse does beat this team. I'm taking the Orange by 13 over Arkansas State. This game is available regionally or WatchESPN at 2pm. John is in the Dome living dangerously. I'll be in the home office. Go Orange!

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Buffalo - Syracuse Preview

Syracuse students agree: We'd feel a lot better sitting at home with a win.
Syracuse had a big setback on Saturday when no one could make a basket and Old Dominion left with a win and a check. Now Syracuse has a chance to get another nice non-conference win against top 25 Buffalo. CJ Massinburg leads Buffalo in scoring, averaging 17.5 ppg. He had 43 points against West Virginia earlier this year. Syracuse will have to stop him to have a chance at winning tonight. The simple fact is Syracuse has been dreadful from an offensive standpoint at the center position. And in the last game, it was really Battle and not much else on offense. Frank Howard and Brissett were part of an offensive monster with Battle that almost alone lead Syracuse to the NCAA. The difference was Syracuse drove the ball much more last season. This season, Syracuse has taken a lot of jump shots, and while they are starting to fall more, they really need to commit more to getting to the basket. I think the Syracuse offense will bounce back tonight. But Syracuse will also need to rebound. The good news is that Buffalo doesn't have nearly as good of a defense as ODU did. I think Syracuse has a bit of a rebound after last weekend's game where everyone on the floor was off for Syracuse. I think Jaley Carey is actually due for some minutes on the floor if Howard continues to struggle tonight. Either way, Syracuse wins a squeaker, winning by 5. This game is available nationally on ESPN 2 / WatchESPN at 8:00pm. Both John and I are at home. Here's hoping Syracuse regains the title of the best team in Upstate New York. GO ORANGE!

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Old Dominion - Syracuse Preview

Syracuse students agree: We probably aren't at this game because we have finals.
After a week off, and a nice comeback win over Georgetown on a final seconds shot from Tyus Battle. Old Dominion comes in at 7-3, losing to the likes of St. Joes, Oregon State, and Northern Iowa. Syracuse is currently the toughest team they will play for the entire season. Notre Dame's leading scorer is guard Ahmad Carver, who averages 18.5ppg. He is very good at defense and runs the floor well. Unlike a lot of teams Syracuse plays early, ODU has a good bit of size and will challenge SU on the boards, more than Colgate or Bonaventure might. This game should actually be fairly close. But I look for Battle to again take over in the 2nd half, and I think after a full week of rest and practice, we'll see Frank Howard get a little more of his offensive game back. I think he'll actually have somewhat of a breakout game today. And after playing well in the 2nd half against Georgetown, Chukwu might have a bit of an offensive burst today as well. Again, while I think this game will stay close, probably until the last 12 minutes, Syracuse should be able to pull away and get a nice lead. I'm taking SU by 11. This game is available regionally at 12:00pm. Check your local listings, or WatchESPN if you aren't blacked out. Both John and I are watching from home. We'll see you out there. GO ORANGE!

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Georgetown - Syracuse Preview

Syracuse students agree: Georgetown still sucks!
Besides UConn, no other non-conference game moves the meter for Syracuse fans like Georgetown. And for good reason. If you're reading this preview, you know the history. And now Patrick Ewing is the coach at Georgetown, making his first trip back to the Carrier Dome. Syracuse has been steadily improving on offense with the return of Frank Howard. Tyus Battle has quietly decided to score and score again. And while the center position has been lackluster on offense, Syracuse's defense has been very solid the last few games. And now Syracuse takes on a Georgetown team that finished 15-15 last season, and this year has lost to Loyola Marymount, along with squeaking by USF and several other teams. Georgetown does have a very good senior player in Jessie Govan, who is averaging 19.5ppg. Syracuse will have to battle in the low post and guard the line to cover Govan, who can score from almost anywhere on the floor. Syracuse will need some stiff defense and very active hands. Any steals that translate to points will obviously only help. But despite coming down to the wire and having Tyus Battle have to will Syracuse to win in DC last season, Syracuse is a deeper team who should have more scoring opportunities and be able to get a lead on Georgetown and hold them to a decent margin in the 2nd half. I'm taking Syracuse to win one at home and put away Georgetown for the 2nd year in a row, and the last year of the current non-conference deal. Syracuse by 12. This game is available at 3:30pm on ESPN / WatchESPN. Have a 2nd TV for Army/Navy. Both John and I will be in the Dome and will hopefully be celebrating by tomorrow evening. Go Army, beat Navy, and GO ORANGE! And Georgetown still sucks!

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Northeastern - Syracuse Preview

Syracuse students agree: We're probably studying for finals.
Northeastern heads from Boston down I-90 to Syracuse to take on the Orange. The other Huskies had an impressive early win against Alabama. But since then, they have lost two starters, including th Colonial's Defensive PoY and their senior guard Vasa Pusica, who was averaging 14.2ppg. While this game may have been a tough early test for Syracuse, this game should be an easy go. Even easier than Cornell. Tyus Battle should continue to get offensive buckets. Maybe even Chukwu will finally get a dunk?!?!? Either way, Syracuse should be able to have a great day on defense and pull away probably within the first 20 minutes of this one. I expect a lot of bench players to get extended minutes in this one. I'm taking Syracuse by 27. This game is available on WatchESPN in an internet only affair at 7:00pm. John is in the Dome. I'm in the home office. This is Syracuse's final tune up before Georgetown this Saturday. Let's hope they don't overlook Northeastern tonight. GO ORANGE!

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Cornell - Syracuse Preview

Syracuse students agree: At least one Boeheim is winning.
This game will feature a Boeheim on each team, and of course, the elder statesman Jim coaching the Syracuse sideline. And while it's a fun story, it really will have little impact on what should be the ultimate conclusion. Syracuse is going to beat Cornell again. Also some good news, that the officials that were in Columbus on Wednesday won't be on the game tonight. But Syracuse will need to have an equally solid defensive outing. Cornell's best player, guard Matt Morgan, is shooting just under 50% from 3 on the season. He's going to try and let it rip over the Zone to try and keep Cornell in this one. But Syracuse should dominate the boards both on height and athletic ability. And with Frank Howard back, Syracuse should get into a nice flow on offense and be able to pull away in the 2nd half. Cornell will probably stay in the game with their shooting. But they will fade. I'm taking Syracuse by 22. This game is available at 8:00pm on ESPN U / WatchESPN. John will be in the Dome. I'm in the home office. GO ORANGE!

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