We’re entering the very beginning of the traditional summer-long Syracuse sports desert. With football and basketball still appearing as a hazy mirage on the horizon, there’s not a ton to talk about with either team until AAU season and football commitments kick up in June and July. Until then, ‘Cuse football fans desperate for content might be intrigued to know that there are opening betting lines coming out concerning the 2022 squad’s win total.
(Disclaimer: Bettors in New York aren’t able to legally bet on college teams in the state.)
As of two days ago, the initial lines coming out for Syracuse football’s win total tab the Orange with yet another low predicted mark. PointBet and Bet Online both give the Orange an O/U line of 4.5 wins for the 2022 season, while Caesar’s Sportsbook has set its line at 4. It’s only slightly higher than SU’s O/U of 3 that they had heading into 2021. Most of our Fizz Writers would’ve taken the under or expected the bet to push 3, but we all would’ve lost money after watching the Orange go 5-7.
You can hear us discuss this topic on today’s Fizz Five, but there are details not discussed in today’s show that may lead you to believe the over is a better bet. SU returns the lion’s share of its 2021 ‘production’ Рyards, scores, tackles, and more. ESPN’s Bill Connelly has created a metric to track just how much production teams in the FBS brings back, and Syracuse clocks in at No. 9 on his list.
SU returns most of its offense, including skill position holdovers in quarterback Garrett Shrader, leading receiver Courtney Jackson, and Heisman-caliber running back Sean Tucker, who now get to work within new offensive coordinator Robert Anae’s highly-touted system. On the defensive side, linebacker Mikel Jones is one of the nation’s best, and a young secondary featuring talented cornerbacks in Garrett Williams and Duce Chestnut gets its second year together.
In a football sense, you figure head coach Dino Babers needs to at least make a bowl to head into the offseason with a modicum of job security. Babers enters Year 7 with a single bowl appearance (a win in 2018) and a 29-43 record on The Hill. If SU misses out on a bowl for the fourth straight year after cycling through another set of assistants and hits its under for wins, eyes will turn to Babers and his immediate future with the Orange.
With this in mind, I would personally take the over. I do believe the Orange are bound for a potential bowl season, but there’s plenty to figure out between now and the year’s opener on September 3rd. Stay tuned to the Fizz for our predictions that’ll start coming out as the summer progresses.
