Syracuse vs. Florida State: TNIAAM Predictions & Poll

It’s been nearly a month since the Syracuse Orange football team last played on the road, but now they find themselves 3-1 and staring at a surprising 4-1 start... if they can get past the 0-4 Florida State Seminoles at Doak Campbell Stadium.

Of course, that’s easier said than done since SU has never won down in Tallahassee and the ‘Noles are arguably better than that winless record would indicate.

Before things get going on Saturday, the TNIAAM staff weighs in on whether or not the Orange can find yet another victory against some odds.

Kevin

Florida State 23, Syracuse 20

The quarterback news doesn’t give me a ton of confidence taking Syracuse on the road. Florida State is strong up front and I think they’ll be keying on Sean Tucker and the running game. Can the Orange find more in the passing game? Will they continue to rely on the defense to deliver time and time again? It feels like Syracuse is walking a tightrope with this approach and we’ll see if they can make it safely to the other side tomorrow.

Christian

Syracuse 17, Florida State 14

Does anyone trust either of these offenses to actually get going into any sort of rhythm? Both run defenses are good enough that the quarterbacks need to make throws to move the ball downfield consistently. I don’t trust any of FSU’s quarterbacks to do that, and I certainly don’t trust Garrett Shrader to do that. I think Tommy DeVito needs to come in really quickly if Shrader starts. Either way, this screams like a low scoring game.

Andy

Syracuse 16, Florida State 13

Man, Christian and I are hammering that under. Florida State’s defense is probably the best defense the Orange have faced this year to date, and we’ve seen that as last week, this offense can struggle very quickly if the running game doesn’t carry the team. On the opposite side of field, Florida State’s offense has struggled to block anyone, and give up far too much pressure to non-blitzes, which should have Tony White salivating. I see the hero being Andre Szymt, who redeemed his early miss against Liberty with the game winning kick, and will probably be called upon to do the same in this game.

John

Florida State 27, Syracuse 23

Both teams can run the ball. Both teams can stop the run. So things will get decided by which team can succeed playing out of their comfort zone. Based on what we’ve seen so far from Syracuse, I’m not banking on the Orange being able to throw the ball effectively because I honestly haven’t seen it yet — especially with Garrett Shrader under center. If SU can at least look average there, I think there’s a real chance they come away with a win here. But need to see it in action first.

Now it’s your turn...