Despite everything that happened to the Pac-12, Washington State was playing like one of the best teams in the country early on this year.
The Cougars won eight of their first nine games. They played mostly against Mountain West teams, but they defeated in-state rival Washington and only lost to Boise State, which won the MW Championship and earned a bye in the College Football Playoff, during that stretch.
However, the Cougars suffered an upset loss at New Mexico late in the season, which essentially ended their hopes of securing their own CFP berth. Then they lost to Oregon State and Wyoming.
Even though those three games were decided by a collective seven points, that’s not how Wazzu fans imagined the regular season would end.
And the last couple weeks also haven’t gone as they hoped, either. Head coach Jake Dickert has left for Wake Forest, and star quarterback John Mateer entered the transfer portal before committing to Oklahoma.
Now, after all of that, Washington State is aiming to bounce back and win in the DirecTV Holiday Bowl against a strong Syracuse squad.
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Syracuse vs. Washington State Betting Odds
Syracuse is a -18.5 college football betting odds favorite against Washington State, with the Over/Under being 59.5.
The moneyline for Syracuse is -1000, while it’s +650 for Washington State.
Syracuse vs. Washington State On TV
The matchup between Syracuse and Washington State will be televised on FOX.
The game will kick off at 8 p.m. ET on Friday, Dec. 27. The contest is taking place at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California.
Syracuse vs. Washington State Prediction
I predict Syracuse will win and cover the 18.5-point spread. I also project the game will go Under 59.5 total points.
I might’ve made this prediction even after Jake Dickert and John Mateer left Washington State. But especially now that they’re gone, I don’t foresee this going Wazzu’s way.
The Cougars hadn’t been playing their best during the last three games of the regular season. And in two of those games, they gave up 38 or more points.
And for the season, the Cougars ranked 90th in the FBS in scoring defense after allowing 28.1 points per game and were 117th with 429 yards per game allowed. And without Mateer, I don’t expect Wazzu to score as much as it has.
Syracuse, meanwhile, has been playing at a high level in recent weeks. The Orange went 9-3 overall this year and closed the regular season out with wins over Cal, UConn, and Miami – the last of those games forced the Hurricanes to miss the College Football Playoff.
Syracuse was 10th in the country in total offense (456.1 yards per game) and 32nd in scoring offense (32.6 points per game). I don’t think the Orange will have many issues on that side of the ball going up against Washington State, even if the game is on the West Coast.
