Syracuse Orange vs Akron Zipps Football 2010 Preview & Perdictions

Two programs that are coming off of relatively disappointing seasons square off in the first week of play, as the Orange play host to the Zips to open the 2010 college football betting campaign.

The Orange are going to start over once again on offense. For the third straight season, a new signal caller will start in the opening week of the year, as Ryan Nassib will be the man under center this season. Nassib thought he was going to be leading this team last year before Greg Paulus transferred in from Duke for a one year experiment as a QB. He earned a bit of playing time, going 36-of-68 for 422 yards with three scores and an INT.
Believe it or not, the strength of the Orange last year was a defense that ranked 37th in the land in total yards. Averaging 337.0 yards per game allowed was a marked improvement for a defense that historically gets torched. Ten starters are back from last year's club, and that could make life a living hell for an Akron offense that many feel will struggle again in the 2010 college football betting festivities.

This is the first of a series of cupcakes for Syracuse that should be building team confidence and character. Games against teams like Akron, Colgate, and Maine aren't going to prepare the Orange for the Big East slate, but at least it will get the home crowd a chance to see some prospective victories.

The Zips are coming off of a woeful 3-9 campaign in which they struggled the whole time. No one is expecting this team to come forth with a fantastic effort this year either, though having a returning QB Patrick Nicely will certainly help. Nicely completed just 54.1 percent of his passes for 1,349 yards and six TDs against six INTs last season.

The defense needs to improve, but thanks to the fact that the Orange struggle so much offensively, the unit could get some much needed confidence to start the year off. Allowing anywhere near last year's rushing average of 171.9 yards per game would be fatal to the Zips effort in their first game of the season.

These two teams have met twice before, with the 'Cuse winning at home 28-14 last season and losing 42-28 at home two years ago. Nicely went 16-of-25 for 191 yards and a TD in one of his best games of the season last year.

Syracuse is 11-2-1 ATS in its L/14 games against the MAC, while Akron is just 1-7 ATS in its L/8 games played on turf.

Head coach Doug Marrone finds his team favored by 7.5-points in this college football betting affair. The 'total' can be found at 43.5