For the first time ever these schools meet on the gridiron
The Syracuse Orange (2-0, 1-0) welcome a new ACC conference opponent to the JMA Wireless Dome tomorrow night. The Stanford Cardinal (1-1, 0-0) will face Syracuse for the first time ever. It’s a 7:30 kick on ESPN and here’s what we predict will happen:
Kevin: Syracuse 31, Stanford 20
It’s early in the season but there’s nothing to suggest that Stanford can slow down the Syracuse offense enough to get the win. If the Orange can take care of the ball, they should be able to get in front and force the Cardinal to have to play catch up. Look for the Syracuse defensive line led by Fadil Diggs to make life difficult for Ashton Daniels.
Carson: Syracuse 31, Stanford 13
Through two games, it’s hard to believe this offense isn’t going to run through what was arguably one of the worst defenses in the country last season — that also didn’t get much help from the transfer portal to fix its issues. Fran Brown talked a lot this week about the improvements within the offensive line, which leads me to believe that Syracuse may look to establish the run game a bit more with LeQuint Allen this go-around. It’s great that SU can throw the ball, and with accuracy, but if the Orange can prove to the rest of the ACC that they can run the ball as well, this team could certainly have head coaches re-evaluating their game plans.
Max: Syracuse 38, Stanford 24
It’s hard for me to pick against the Orange right now, who have the better roster and all the momentum going into this one. Given the first-ever meeting between the two programs, I’d expect Stanford to come out the gates a little rusty in front of a packed Dome crowd. Kyle McCord will carve up a Cardinal defense that is due for regression, and Daniels will be flushed out of the pocket by SU’s stout defensive line.
Mike: Syracuse 42, Stanford 17
SU survived their early challenge against GT and with this game nestled between a bye and an FCS opponent, there’s no reason for them to stutter. It’s Stanford’s first long trip east for ACC play and regardless of them flying in a day early, they may very well come out sluggish. That would give the Orange a chance to bury them early – make it happen gents.
Dom: Syracuse 28, Stanford 17
Like the rest of the staff, Syracuse’s offense just flat out boasts more firepower than Stanford does. A suspect Orange defense will have its inconsistent moments but mostly hold up against a Stanford offense that doesn’t really jump off the page. There’s a lot riding on this one given the Friday primetime window this game is in, so I’d expect coach Brown to have the Orange in the right mindset mentally coming off the bye week.
Christian: Syracuse 34, Stanford 21
Syracuse’s offense looks too good right now to bet against. TCU grabbed 457 yards of offense in Stanford’s only loss of the season so far. When you have a quarterback like Kyle McCord playing with this much confidence, offense should come easy to the Orange, which is very refreshing to see in Central New York. If the Orange defense locks down Ashton Daniels and the Orange special teams eliminates the mistakes, this should be a comfortable Orange win.
Now it’s your turn