Syracuse football: Orange open as home favorite vs. Boston College

The Syracuse Orange football team is used to being underdogs this year, but that’s not the case this week. After a last-minute win over Virginia Tech on Saturday, Syracuse opened as a 4.5-point favorite vs. the Boston College Eagles, and that’s since moved to 5.5 points per DraftKings (odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details).

Syracuse has seven wins against the spread in 2021, and haven’t been a favorite since the Albany game. They’re 2-0 as the favorite this season, with the other win coming against Ohio in the opener (depending on where you looked, SU was a 1- to 1.5-point favorite by kickoff).

While things appear to be on the upswing for Syracuse, the opposite is true for Boston College. Since starting 4-0, the injury-ravaged Eagles have dropped three in a row, including last week’s 28-14 defeat vs. Louisville. BC has three wins against the spread this year, and has been an underdog in each of the last four games (they beat Missouri in the first one before dropping the most recent three).

DraftKings’ over/under is currently 51.5 points for this game. Syracuse is averaging 30.5 points per game this year, while the Eagles are getting 28.4 per game. However, Boston College hasn’t scored more than 14 points in a contest since the aforementioned win over Mizzou, by a score of 41-34.

SU’s lost two straight in this matchup, including last year’s 16-13 defeat. But both teams also look vastly different than either of the last two games against one another. Should be an interesting one for SU — whether you bet on it or not — as the Orange attempt to win game No. 5.