by Chuck Sommers
Sunday, Dec 25, 2022Pinstripe Bowl
Time: 2 p.m. ET
Venue: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
Where to watch: ESPN
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Minnesota -9.5; Minnesota -375, Syracuse +285; O/U 42
FanDuel: Minnesota -9.5; Minnesota -360, Syracuse +280; O/U 41.5
BetMGM: Minnesota -10; Minnesota -350, Syracuse +275; O/U 42
Caesars: Minnesota -10; Minnesota -385, Syracuse +300; O/U 42
Season record
Syracuse: 7-5
Minnesota: 8-4
Bowl season is here! There are 42 games that are going to be determining how this season ends. We appreciate you for hanging with us during this college football season, and you know it’s not over yet. We’re going to keep on rolling and giving your our best picks over the course of the next month. All the way up until the College Football Playoff, which is going to have some incredible games. Do you have the right idea when you head to the books for these important games? Our champion handicappers surely have you covered. Will Rogers is running an impressive 24-11-0 in the last month. Al McMordie has also been cashing in heavily with a 40-29-1 mark in college football over the last 30 days. Our guys here have you ready to go for what should be an exciting week. Be tuned to bigal.com for everything!
Syracuse - Minnesota preview, analysis and prediction
Syracuse analysis
There was Once Upon a time where the Syracuse Orange were on the cusp of being the best team in the ACC this year and I was sincerely hoping that they would find a way to run the table after their strong start to the season and put a stamp on this incredible run. But ironically enough, that 27-21 loss at Clemson on October 22nd really put Syracuse in a deep tailspin. Because had they gone on to win that game, Syracuse is likely playing in a New Year’s Six bowl. but then Syracuse followed that with a loss to Notre Dame, a loss to Pittsburgh, a thrashing to Florida State, and a loss to a struggling Wake Forest team. The fact that the only win that Syracuse could muster in the final six games was a road win at Boston College shows you how bad things got for Syracuse down the stretch. Syracuse lost its last five against the spread and was favored only one time. It was that game against Boston College where Syracuse was 10.5 point favorites and failed to cover by a 1.5. But the ugly habits that have plagued Syracuse for the last number of years have crept up in these last six games. The offense is not doing what it should be doing, the running game especially as its biggest strength is not producing at the level that Syracuse is expected to have happen. The last two games have done that but it took too long against two bad defenses for it to breakthrough. And that's where the disconnect is right now as it pertains to Syracuse.
Minnesota analysis
Definitely not the season that the Minnesota golden Gophers were expecting. I think they expected to challenge in the big 10 the way that a lot of people were expecting them to with a dominant running game and the ability to control the clock. But Minnesota had a little slip up midway through the season with a loss to Purdue, a loss to Illinois, and then losing by 4 touchdowns to Penn State. Those aren't horrendous losses by any stretch but it showed just how far in the pecking order Minnesota was from the rest of the conference. Minnesota struggled against the spread down the stretch, losing 5 of its final eight against the spread. What was shocking in this whole situation was that Minnesota was favored in six of those games and the margin was not even close. There were losses by 19, 16.5, 22.5 and 7.5 to closeout the season. That's not good enough and Minnesota knows that in order to take that next step, which is going to be hard with this outgoing senior class, that the Gophers need that consistent production on offense as well as trying to slow down opponents but defensively which is just as difficult.
Prediction
Normally I would say this is a trap game in terms of the over, but everything is playing out the way that you would expect a Syracuse-Minnesota game to go. the under has cashed in Minnesota the last four times following a cover, and Syracuse has seen the under cash in four straight following an outright victory. So in a battle of running backs, who is going to prevail between Sean Tucker and Mo Ibrahim? in this instance, I am going to take the team that has been playing better over the course of the last month. Minnesota 17, Syracuse 10
Betting trends
Minnesota is 23-10 ATS off an upset win over a conference opponent as an underdog since 1992.
Minnesota is 10-2 ATS after a game where it committed no turnovers the last 3 seasons.
Syracuse is 31-49 ATS after 2 straight games where they committed 1 turnover or less since 1992.
Statistical leaders
Syracuse:
Passing: Garrett Shrader – 2,310 yards, 17 TD, 6 INT
Rushing: Sean Tucker – 1,060 yards, 11 TD
Receiving: Oronde Gadsen II – 891 yards, 6 TD
Minnesota:
Passing: Tanner Morgan – 1,324 yards, 7 TD, 5 INT
Rushing: Mo Ibrahim – 1,594 yards, 19 TD
Receiving: Daniel Jackson – 484 yards, 3 TD
Don't miss our champion handicappers' free picks and expert football picks today. And if you enjoyed this Syracuse Orange - Minnesota Golden Gophers prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our daily college football projections and previews.
Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
