Among SU fans there’s cautious optimism around the Orange right now. A healthy Eric Dungey, another season of understanding Dino Babers’ offense, an improvement in the depth of the talent. This could all lead to the first bowl game in five years, or it could look a lot like the end of last season. So what does Vegas think?
The odds at online sportsbooks can give us some insight into realistic expectations. As you might imagine, the chances the Orange win the national championship are bleak. 5Dimes says SU is +250,000, meaning if you bet $100, you’d bring back a quarter million dollars (the same as Houston and Maryland). Got a hundy lying around? You could be (kinda) rich if lightning strikes.
A more realistic, yet still lofty goal would be winning the ACC. 5Dimes calls it at +100,000… so a hundred bucks would bring back $100,000. How about just getting to the ACC title game? SU¬† has the worst odds to win the Atlantic division at +4500. Having Clemson and FSU in your division will have that effect.
BookMaker has marked 5.5 wins at the over/under for Syracuse. Meaning, if you bet the over, Syracuse needs to tally 6 wins (and you’d likely see the Orange in a bowl game). The faith isn’t there though from the betting public. About 65% of bettors are taking the under on Syracuse.
Finally, let’s look at the immediate future. Syracuse is listed as a 6-point favorite in the opener against Western Michigan. A win on Friday would at very least be the first step in getting on track this season.
