NCAAF Team totals plays

[dmoney416]

Syracuse Under 4.5 Wins (-105):



Last Year: 4-8

Returning starters: 12 (7 on offense, 5 on defense) (fewest returning starters in the Big East)

Avg points per game: 17.4

Avg points allowed per game: 24.6

Coach: Greg Robinson (3rd year at Syracuse, 5-18 in the last two seasons)



Offense:



They lose their starting QB Perry Patterson. Sophomore Andrew Robinson will take the reins, and he has only 8 career collegiate passes. They do return their top two RBs, Delone Carter and Curtis Brinkley. They combined for 1284 yards and 6 TDs last year. They also return their top 4 receivers, but they are still weak in this area. Their leading receiver last year was Mike Williams, but he only had 461 yards. They also return 3 of their 5 OLineman. Overall though, they should struggle with a new QB.



Defense:



This is where they will really struggle. This unit kept them in some games last season, but that may not be the case this year. They lose 3 of their 6 leading tacklers, including leading tackler Kelvin Smith (115 tackles). They do return their leading sack man in Jameel McClain (9.5 sacks). However, they lose all three starting linebackers and both starting cornerbacks, which leaves the defense to make a huge amount of adjustments in the front seven and in the secondary.



Special Teams:



They do have one of the best kickers in the nation in Patrick Shayle, as he hit 16-18 FGs last season. Freshman Rob Long will get the job at punter after averaging 40 yards per punt in high school. Don't expect too much out of him in terms of consistency.



Schedule:


Date Opponent Time/Result
Aug 31 Washington 12:00pm
Sep 22 @Louisville TBA
Sep 29 @Miami (Ohio) TBA
Oct 6 West Virginia TBA
Oct 13 Rutgers TBA
Oct 20 Buffalo TBA
Nov 3 @Pittsburgh TBA
Nov 10 South Florida TBA
Nov 17 @Connecticut TBA
Nov 24 Cincinnati TBA


Games they will win (90-100%): Buffalo
Games they should win (60-85%): @Miami OH
Toss-ups (Spread should be 4 or lower): Illinois (lean toward a loss), Washington (lean toward a win), Cincinnati (lean toward a loss)
Games they should lose (10-30%): @Pittsburgh, @UConn
Games they will lose (<10%): South Florida, Rutgers, West Va., @Iowa, @Louisville

Let's say they beat Washington, Illinois, @Miami OH, and Buffalo (and this is a big assumption). That's four wins. I think it will be a very tough go for them in conference. They play Rutgers, WVU, and SF at home in games that they do not have much of a chance in either way. Of the teams expected to finish 5th-7th in the conference (Cincy, Pitt, and UConn), Cincy is the only one they get at home. Also, they get Cincy as their last game of the season, which is a bad time to play them. First, Cincy could be fighting for a bowl bid/bowl and division position. Second, Cincy should have adjusted to Coach Brian Kelly's spread offense scheme by this time. It wouldn't shock me to see this team go winless in conference.

[dmoney416]

Georgia Tech Over 7 wins (-115):

Last year: 9-5 (9-4 in the regular season)
Returning starters: 15 (7 on offense, 8 on defense)
Avg points per game: 24.9
Avg points allowed per game: 18.4
Head Coach: Chan Gailey (6th season as GT coach, 37-27 in five seasons)

Offense

They lose the best receiver in football in Calvin Johnson, so they will have to adjust at WR. They do return #2 receiver James Johnson, who had 608 yards and 7 TDs last season. Starting QB Reggie Ball is gone, but this is addition by subtraction. Ball may have been the worst 4-year starter in college football history. He had a 44.4 completion % last season with the best receiver in the country. Taking over is Junior Taylor Bennett, who started the bowl game against West Virginia last season. He led them to a narrow 38-35 loss as 10 point underdogs. Last season, he was 35-58 (60.3%) with 523 yards, 5 TDs, and 2 INTs. They also return one of the most underrated RBs in the game in Tashard Choice. He ran for 1473 yards and 12 TDs last year (5.0 average). They return 4 of the 5 O-Linemen who paved the way for Choice last year.


Defense

They lose their top tackler in KaMichael Hall (91 tackles last year), but they return five of their six top tacklers overall, including sack man Philip Wheeler (9 sacks). They return 3 of their 4 D-Linemen that only allowed 3.3 yards per carry last season. This unit may be one of the top five D-Lines in the country. They also return two of their three starting LBs and three of the four starters in the secondary.


Special Teams:

They return punter Durant Brooks, who may be the best punter in the country. He averaged 46 yards per punt last season and landed 35 of his 79 punts inside the opponents 20. Kicker Travis Bell return after hitting 43-43 XPs and 12-18 FGs last year.

SCHEDULE

Date Opponent Time/Result
Sep 1 @Notre Dame 3:30pm
Sep 8 Samford 1:30pm
Sep 15 Boston College 8:00pm
Sep 22 @Virginia TBA
Sep 29 Clemson TBA
Oct 6 @Maryland TBA
Oct 13 @Miami (Fla.) TBA
Oct 20 Army TBA
Nov 1 Virginia Tech 6:30pm
Nov 10 @Duke TBA
Nov 17 North Carolina TBA
Nov 24 Georgia TBA






Games they will win (90-100%): Samford, Army
Games they should win (70-90%): @Duke, North Carolina
Games they should lose (10-30%): @Miami, FL

Besides this, I see a good amount of toss-ups here. The rest of the majority of the games could go either way and I don't see them being a huge underdog in any of their games. They should be slight favorites against BC and Clemson. This team would beat Virginia and Maryland on neutral fields, but the games will be more challenging on the road. This team is strong on both lines and at RB, which I consider to be the three most important positions in college football. So, overall I like this team's chances at 8 wins or more.

[dmoney416]

South Carolina Over 7 wins (-120):

Last season: 8-5 (7-5 in the regular season)
Returning starters: 17 (7 on offense, 10 on defense)
Average points per game: 26.6
Average points allowed per game: 18.7
Head Coach: Steve Spurrier (3rd year as South Carolina Coach, 157-50-2 in his college career)

Offense:

This unit is a bit of a question mark. They averaged 26.9 ppg last season, but this was inflated by easy wins over Florida Atlantic and Middle Tennessee St. The offense was inconsistent at most points last season. They lose QB Syvelle Newton (58.6 comp.%, 1316 yards, 12 TDs, 7 INTs) who split time at the postion last year. This means that this season, Blake Mitchell will be the sole starting QB. Last season he had a 66.8 comp.%, 1789 yards, 10 TD, and 6 INT. They lose their top WR in Sidney Rice (1090 yards), but they return their #2 through #4 WRs. Kenny McKinley (880 yards, 5 TDs), Cory Boyd (406 yards, 2 TDs), and Freddie Brown (147 yards) all return. They also return their top two RBs in Cory Boyd (846 yards, 8 TDs, 5.0 yards per rush) and Mike Davis (490 yards, 6 TDs, 4.9 yards per rush). They lose 3 of their 5 O-Linemen, but this team regularly rotates 10 men on the O-line, and they return all of the depth to that position.

Defense:

This was a strength last season, and they could be one of the best in the nation this year. Every single starter returns except for FS Fred Bennett (37 tackles, 2 INT). They return an unheard of 15 of their top 16 tacklers coming into the season. Leading the way is MLB Jasper Brinkley, who had 107 tackles and 5 sacks last year. This team can only improve on their quality defensive numbers of last season.

Special Teams:

Ryan Succop will handle both the kicking and punting duties. He is an average punter, but he is a very good kicker (probably top 10 in the country). Last season, he was 37-39 on XPs, and 16-20 on FGs (an impressive 8-11 from 40+).

SCHEDULE

Date Opponent Time/Result
Sep 1 La.-Lafayette TBA
Sep 8 @Georgia 5:45pm
Sep 15 South Carolina State TBA
Sep 22 @LSU 8:00pm
Sep 29 Mississippi St. TBA
Oct 4 Kentucky 6:30pm
Oct 13 @North Carolina TBA
Oct 20 Vanderbilt TBA
Oct 27 @Tennessee TBA
Nov 3 @Arkansas 1:00pm
Nov 10 Florida TBA
Nov 24 Clemson TBA


Games they will win (90-100%): La-Lafayette, South Carolina St.
Games they should win (60-85%): @North Carolina, Mississippi St, Vanderbilt, Kentucky
Toss-ups: Florida, Clemson (lean towards a win)
Games they should lose (10-30%): @Tennessee, @Arkansas, @Georgia
Games they will lose (<10%): @LSU

This schedule is very difficult, but this team can handle it. Even though I have three road games in games they should lose, I expect them to win one, maybe two of these games. In my opinion, Tennessee and Arkansas both either remained the same or declined slightly over the offseason while SC improved. Therefore, I think they can definitely take one of these two games. Also, Spurrier is probably the best coach in the conference. He is also very successful on the road. In his first 2 seasons at South Carolina, he is 6-3 on the road, and 8-1 ATS on the road. This is amazing considering how difficult road games typically are in college football.

[MyTurn2Raise]

I'm with agreement on you big time for one

Georgia Tech over 7 wins bet 4.4u to win 4u

[MyTurn2Raise]

UCLA over 9 wins bet 2u to win 2.2u

[MyTurn2Raise]

Alabama over 8 wins bet 1u to win 1.05u

LSU over 10 wins bet 2.1u to win 2u

[dmoney416]

Quick note on 'Bama that someone on Covers mentioned:

Every SEC team they play except for two (Vandy and one other team that I can't remember) has a bye week before they play them.

Not sure if that affects your bet, just throwing that out there as a scheduling quirk that could potentially hurt them.

[MyTurn2Raise]

4 SEC teams have a buy before playing Bama
LSU
Arkansas
Auburn
Mississippi St

Bama has a bye before playing LSU, so that is negated

Arkansas-Bama is the 3rd week of the year and it might work in Bama's favor as the HOgs only game before that is home v Troy while Bama gets a taste of semi-real action @ Vandy the week before.

The Auburn and Miss St do of course make a difference.

[MyTurn2Raise]

Kansas St under 7.5 wins bet 1.4u to win 1u

[MyTurn2Raise]

Auburn under 8.5 wins bet 1.15u to win 1u