Stanford vs. Syracuse prediction, odds, key players to watch in college football week four

Syracuse will welcome Stanford to the ACC with a game on Friday night.

The Orange have unveiled a revamped roster that is making explosive plays on offense, while Stanford looks to put on a strong performance in its conference debut. After a close game in Week 1, Stanford swept an FCS opponent before its BYE week. Can the team travel across the country and remain competitive?

Here is our best chance to do so.

Spread

Money line

In total: 57.5 (Over -115/Under -105)

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

Stanford

Ashton Daniels: Daniels struggled with passes against TCU in the team's only meeting with FBS opponents, but showed off his strong legs with 17 carries for 87 yards in the team's narrow loss. Can he have similar success against Syracuse's defense, which has had trouble containing mobile quarterbacks? Ohio State's Parker Navarro and Georgia Tech's Haynes King have averaged nearly five yards per carry.

Syracuse

Kyle McCord: The Ohio State transfer is very happy with his new home in western New York State and has completed 69% of his passes for 735 yards and eight touchdowns in two games with the Orange.

Stanford showed some skill in a close loss to TCU in Week 1, but ultimately the team's win probability in that game was under 15%. The team minimizes its mistakes and has some big-play ability with Daniels as a dual-threat and a strong wide receiver in Elic Ayomanor.

However, Syracuse has shown that it has much more firepower than the typical ACC team and can find big plays on the field, which has exposed TCU as a weak spot in the Cardinal secondary. While it's just one data point, Stanford ranked outside the top 100 in EPA/pass last season and TCU threw 342 passes in Week 1.

McCord will move up the court and score points, but I have some doubts about Syracuse's defense and their ability to limit chunk plays. The team ranks 95th in EPA/Play to start the season and, as a heavy favorite, has shown that teams can keep the game respectably (Ohio scored 22 points against that Orange defense).

I'll go with “Over” on Friday night.

CHOICE: OVER 57.5

The game odds are updated regularly and are subject to change.

Follow Reed on Twitter @ReedWallach and get all his college football bets on Betting stamp @rw33

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