The West Virginia Mountaineers from the Big 12 conference will face the Syracuse Orange from the Big East conference in the Pinstripe Bowl in an NCAA college football game on Saturday December 29th.Kick off time from Yankees Stadium is scheduled for 3:15PM Eastern Time with national television coverage provided by ESPN.
The point spread opened up in the Pinstripe Bowl with the West Virginia Mountaineers favored by -4 points with an over under line of 73 ½ points Early money from the bettors has not moved this betting line as West Virginia remains favored by -4 points. The over under line has moved up a ½ point to a current line of 74 points.
West Virginia was a former member of the Big East conference so these two clubs met last year with the Orange posting the 49-23 home win against the Mountaineers as a +14 point underdog. The total landed over 60 ½ points. CFB Trend: Syracuse Orange is 2-0 ATS in their past two meetings with the West Virginia Mountaineers
The Mountaineers finished up play during the regular season with a record of 7-5 on the year. After a mid-season five game losing streak the team won their final two games with a road win at Iowa St and a home win on December 1st to Kansas winning 59-10 as a -21 point favorite. They have two notable wins this season against Baylor at home and Texas on the road. The Orange has double digit losses by 21 points or more to Texas Tech, Kansas St and Oklahoma St. West Virginia is an all offense no defense team. They average 518 yards per game ranking 8th in college football and surrenders 469 yards which is 111th in all of college football. A weakness that can be exploited by a pass happy Syracuse team is the bad Mountaineers pass defense that allows 327 yards a game which is 123rd in the nation. West Virginia puts up 41 points a game and allows 38 to their opponents. Senior quarterback Geno Smith had 40 touchdowns and 6 picks along with a 71% completion percentage.
The Syracuse Orange finished off play during their regular season with a record of 7-5. They finished the season strongly with three straight wins and five wins over their past five games. The Orange has a notable win at Missouri on November 17th winning 31-27 as a +6 point underdog. Syracuse has a good offense behind an experienced quarterback as they gain 473 yards per game ranking 21st. Passing wise they throw for 300 yards a game good for 22nd in college football and that is an area the Orange can exploit a bad Mountaineers pass defense. The team scores 29 points a game and allows 25 a game. Under center for the Orange is senior quarterback Ryan Nassib who threw for 63% completion percentage with 24 touchdowns and 9 picks.