Ohio at Syracuse Preview, Odds & Best Bet – 8/31/2024

The Ohio Bobcats will take on the Syracuse Orange on August 31, 2024, at 3:30 pm ET. The DraftKings Sportsbook odds for this game show the Ohio Bobcats as 17.5 point underdogs. Currently, 54% of the spread bets are in favor of the Bobcats, while the Orange have 46% of the bets. The total of 47.5 has seen 30% of bets on the under and 70% on the over. Continue reading for our analysis of this matchup between the Ohio Bobcats and Syracuse Orange.

Huge Changes Coming For Ohio

Last year, the Ohio Bobcats won 10 games and were one of the more impressive small-conference teams in college football. This year could look a lot different for the Bobcats, as they were loaded with seniors at key positions last season and are not going into the 2024 campaign. Still, Ohio will look to give Syracuse a scare in New York on Saturday to begin their 2024 college football campaign.

The big question for Ohio will be the quarterback position going into this season opener. Kurtis Rourke is no longer the team's signal caller after his collegiate career came to an end after last season concluded. Instead, it will be Parker Navarro taking over at quarterback. Navarro has been named a captain going into this season after seeing limited action behind Rourke last year and Ohio will hope that he is able to deliver as the starter beginning with this year.

A New Era Begins In Syracuse

The Dino Babers era of Syracuse football has come to an end, with the Orange opting to move on from Babers after a promising start to his tenure did not lead to anything substantial. Now it is up to Fran Brown to try and lead the Syracuse football program back to relevance nationally after Brown spent time as the defensive backs coach for a Georgia program that has had a dynastic run at the top of college football in recent years.

Brown's starting quarterback to start his tenure at Syracuse is Kyle McCord, who transfers to Syracuse from Ohio State. McCord threw for over 3,000 yards last season with 24 touchdowns and six interceptions. But there are understandably concerns about his ability to lead a roster that is much worse than the one he was with at Ohio State, even if he should be fine in this matchup against Ohio.

Ohio vs Syracuse Best Bet

We will back Syracuse to win and cover the spread at home to begin the Fran Brown era in their home venue. Ohio has too many questions to answer on the offensive side of the ball to have sustained success in this game, while McCord will prove that he has some decent games ahead of him as the starter for the Orange.

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