The Week 9 college football schedule starts to ramp up a little on Thursday night. While there are just two games on the schedule, both have spreads of less than a touchdown, which should result in a couple of competitive games. There is a critical game in the Sun Belt East Division as well as a showdown between two potential contenders and old rivals in the ACC. Let’s take a closer look at the two games on what should be a compelling Thursday night in college football.
Old Dominion (3-4) -2 vs. Georgia Southern (5-2)
Georgia Southern appears to be the team to beat in the Sun Belt East Division. The Eagles are 3-0 in conference play, including wins over Marshall and James Madison. In fact, their only blemishes are games against Boise State and Ole Miss. The Eagles made a statement last week by beating James Madison by two touchdowns as a 10-point underdog. They did that despite three interceptions from quarterback JC French. The Georgia Southern rushing attack has also had trouble getting going at times this season, putting a lot of pressure on French and the Georgia Southern defense. But with the Eagles giving up less than 20 points per game across their three Sun Belt games, they don’t need a dynamic offense to win games.
As for the Monarchs, they’re an unexpected contender in the Sun Belt following a 1-4 start to the season. But back-to-back wins over Georgia State and Texas State have changed the narrative. Old Dominion was an underdog in both of those wins, including 10.5-point underdogs against Texas State last week. The ODU defense managed to hold both opponents to just 14 points in those victories. The Monarchs were also tough defensively in a 23-19 loss to South Carolina in their season opener. Offensively, the Old Dominion passing game leaves much to be desired. But quarterback Colton Joseph has rushed for over 90 yards in back-to-back games. Old Dominion’s formula is clearly to run the ball and keep playing solid defense. With the Eagles also leaning on their defense, the final score of this game should remain comfortably below the over/under of 54 points, making that the play in this game.
Pick: Under 54
#19 Pittsburgh (6-0) -6 vs. Syracuse (5-1)
The Panthers have been the dominant team in this rivalry for more than two decades. Syracuse has just three wins over Pitt since 2001, which is the last time the Orange won a game in Pittsburgh. But this is a different Syracuse team, which enters Thursday’s game as a road underdog despite winning back-to-back road games. New head coach Fran Brown and Ohio State transfer Kyle McCord have immediately changed the Orange, which ranks second nationally in passing yards. Naturally, Syracuse is the only team in the country with three players averaging over 70 receiving yards per game, as McCord has been able to spread the ball around and prevent opposing defenses from being able to focus on a single receiver. Also, Syracuse has conceded just two total sacks on McCord’s 105 pass attempts across their last two road wins, so they’ve kept their quarterback well-protected in the pocket.
On the other side, the Panthers are 6-0 on the season, but only by a small margin. Pitt needed late comebacks to beat Cincinnati and West Virginia early in the season. They also needed Cal to miss a late field goal to hang on for a 17-15 win in their last game. Yet, the Panthers are 5-1 against the spread, which is a good omen for them. Just like Syracuse, Pitt has been led by its passing game, as freshman Eli Holstein has taken the reins. However, Holstein ran into some trouble against a stingy Cal defense in his last game. The youngster will now have to face a Syracuse defense that forced three takeaways in its last game against NC State. Given Holstein’s lack of experience compared to McCord, this isn't a game that Pitt is likely to win comfortably, as the Orange should beat the spread and could be poised to pull off the upset.
Pick: Syracuse +6
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