Syracuse, N.Y. — The No. 21 Syracuse football team will face Washington State in the Holiday Bowl at 8 p.m., Friday at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California (TV: FOX).
It’s time for our predictions. The panel includes Brent Axe, sports columnist; Chris Carlson, sports enterprise reporter; and Nate Mink, managing producer for sports.
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BRENT AXE
Syracuse 38, Washington State 17
Will Syracuse cover? Yes
It’s hard to envision anything but an easy day at the beach for the Orange with Washington State barely having enough players to not be downgraded to JV.
The one thing I’d be worried about is a backdoor cover by the Cougars once SU starts pulling starters.
Fun fact: Kyle McCord is 267 yards away from Deshaun Watson’s single-season ACC passing mark (4,593 yards). If you are looking for the signal to get McCord out of the game and give Jakhari Williams some needed game experience, that’s the marker.
CHRIS CARLSON
Syracuse 48, Washington State 7
Will Syracuse cover? Yes
The biggest question is whether Syracuse’s pile of touchdown passes will be the last in Orange for quarterback Kyle McCord.
It won’t be a very entertaining game, but Syracuse fans who tune in will get to see send-off touchdowns for Oronde Gadsden II and Jackson Meeks as part of a blowout win
The Cougars have a quarterback so they’ll probably score once or twice against SU’s reserves, but that’s about the only difference between the Holiday Bowl and last year’s Boca Raton Bowl, which the Orange lost 45-0 while playing without its head coach and with a bunch of players looking ahead to futures elsewhere.
If not for having a healthy backup quarterback, Washington State, which is down its quarterback, coach and both coordinators, would be in worse shape than the Orange was last year heading into the postseason.
The Cougars currently have 26 players who have either transferred or are planning to.
NATE MINK
Syracuse 38, Washington State 21
Will Syracuse cover? Yes
The ceremonial eggnog dump at the end of the game, overseen by this country’s foremost hot dog eating champion, encapsulates the big, beautiful mess college football has always been.
Syracuse has some seniors suiting up for their final game; others might not be so sure, including its 22-year-old, record-setting quarterback.
On Friday night in San Diego, they’ll hand out a trophy to the winner, while fans await word on the prize they want most.
It’ll be like one Big Noon Reunion with Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt and Jenny Taft on the broadcast, who also called Kyle McCord’s final game at Ohio State.
Indeed, everything comes full circle.
Point spread: Syracuse by 16.5 points
Fans can stream Syracuse football all season on fuboTV, and get cheap tickets to see the Orange from SeatGeek. Fanatics has a full collection of Syracuse Orange gear to shop online.
This season’s records
Brent Axe: 9-3 straight up; 6-6 against the spread
Chris Carlson: 8-4 straight up; 5-7 against the spread
Nate Mink: 3-9 straight up; 3-9 against the spread
