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NC State vs. Syracuse Picks, Predictions College Football Week 7: Public Firmly Behind Underdog

Henry John

Last Updated: October 15, 2022 7:31 AM EDT • 3 min 5 sec read.

The NC State Wolfpack visit the Syracuse Orange in a ranked-on-ranked matchup in Week. Check out our top NC State-Syracuse picks below.

Syracuse, 5-0, hosts 5-1 NC State. It'll be the toughest test of the season to date for the Orange, after they crushed Wagner 59-0 last week. The Wolfpack lost 30-20 at Clemson two weeks ago but rebounded with a 19-17 victory over Florida State last Saturday.

NC State won last season's head-to-head encounter 41-17 at home.

Check out our college football best bets and all of our top picks for Week 7.

Here are our picks for the Week 7 matchup between NC State and Syracuse (odds via BetRivers and DraftKings Sportsbook; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).

NC State vs. Syracuse Game Info

Date: Saturday, Oct. 15, 3:30 p.m. ET
TV: ACC Network
Location: JMA Wireless Dome, Syracuse, NY
Weather: Indoors

NC State vs. Syracuse Odds

NC State vs. Syracuse Odds Analysis

Ticket and handle percentage are quite even for this ranked matchup. As such, there has been no change in the consensus opening line which favors Syracuse by 3 points. Fifty-two percent of the tickets are on the home team but 51% of the handle is on the visitor.

The opening Over/Under line of 48 combined points has dropped all the way to a consensus of 42.5 as of Saturday morning. This is reverse line movement, as 62% of the tickets account for 67% of the handle on the Over.

NC State vs. Syracuse Picks

Syracuse1013

NC State vs. Syracuse ATS Pick

Syracuse -3 (-121) ★★

To be completely fair, laying points with Syracuse is typically a scary play to make. Just ask anyone who bet on the Orange three weeks ago as 10-point home favorites over a far less talented Virginia team. Bettors have every right to question why they should have faith in Syracuse.

The first key point to highlight with regard to the spread is the current trends across the betting market on this game. The fact that NC State is shaping up to be a definitive public underdog is impossible to ignore. The betting public loves to bet favorites, so this game completely bucks that trend. 

Furthermore, the fact that the Orange have taken the majority of the money as the home favorite is critical. The consensus line of Syracuse -3.5 is dangling a full field goal’s margin plus the extra hook. Needless to say, it’s an inviting number for those betting on NC State. Thanks to a thorough search of the market, we are able to go against the public and avoid laying the extra half-point with the even 3-point spread available at BetRivers.

As far as this game is concerned on the field, both defenses figure to dominate. However, the all-but-certain absence of Wolfpack QB Devin Leary is a major blow for the Wolfpack offense to absorb.

NC State got away with almost exclusively running the football after Leary’s exit last week against a sub-par Florida State run defense. Replicating that success against Syracuse will be nearly impossible. The Orange come into this matchup allowing only 95.0 rushing yards per game. That mark ranks 16th nationally.

NC State vs. Syracuse O/U Pick

Under 42 (-105) ★★

On the season, both NC State and Syracuse are top-20 scoring defenses. The Wolfpack have allowed only 18.2 points per game to FBS opponents. Other than Clemson, no team has scored more than 20 points against Dave Doeren’s defense this season. Meanwhile, the Orange come in having allowed only 17.5 points per game. 

Considering how stingy both teams are defensively, it’s no wonder that oddsmakers set the total so low. Unless NC State has an ace up its sleeve at quarterback, Leary’s absence is bound to make what would’ve been a low-scoring contest even more defensive-focused. 

Mississippi State transfer, Garrett Shrader, has looked like a completely new quarterback for the Orange this season. New offensive coordinator Robert Anae deserves a ton of credit for his improved play and decision-making. However, this will easily be Shrader’s toughest test to date. NC State enters the weekend allowing fewer than 200 passing yards per game to opponents.

NC State vs. Syracuse Prop Pick

Syracuse team total Under 23.5 (-125) ★★★

In some ways, recommending that bettors play the Under on Syracuse’s team total prop of 23.5 goes against our ATS pick above. With the game total set so low, it’s quite possible that the Orange could fail to surpass the 23-point mark and still cover the spread.

This team total line is notably 10 points lower than the 33.3 points Syracuse has averaged on a per-game basis this season. That said, NC State is clearly a tougher defensive opponent than anything the Orange have faced to date. 

It’s also worth noting that DraftKings has this prop line set a full point higher than other sportsbooks in the market.

Where to Bet on NC State-Syracuse Picks

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NC State-Syracuse picks made 10/13/2022 at 4 p.m. ET.

Written By:
Henry John
Henry’s passion for sports dates all the way back to childhood and has ultimately led to a full-fledged career as an analyst and content creator. After getting his start penning fantasy football articles, he forrayed into the betting side of the business in early 2019. His love for sports and statistics proved to be an ideal match with the dedicated research and strategy that handicapping requires. Henry currently specializes in betting analysis and picks for college football, college basketball, and NASCAR. He counts NFL, WNBA, and NBA player props as additional leagues/markets of interest. Henry graduated from SUNY Buffalo in 2021 with a Communication Studies degree and a Psychology minor. A native of the Finger Lakes region in Upstate New York, he and his pup, Harold, have since relocated to Laramie, Wyoming. Thanks to his professional goals within the sports betting industry, there has been a whole lot of steam on the odds for a move to Las Vegas in 2023! Most of Henry’s free time is spent on outdoor adventures, playing chess, snowboarding, or reading a good book. He is also a competitive powerlifter and aspires to qualify for the USAPL Nationals meet within the next 2-3 years.