Syracuse Football 2011 Preview, Predictions, Picks, Odds | Sportsbookbuzz.com

Syracuse Football 2011 Preview, Predictions, Picks, Odds

As the 2011 NCAA Football Season approaches, we are providing season previews for every college football teams to give you the betting edge. Follow the best College Football Handicappers as they analyze their teams in this 2011 season preview. Be sure to bookmark SportsbookBuzz.com your source for Sportsbook Reviews. Use our comprehensive and insider info to bet successfully on the College Football in our recommend sportsbooks.View the rest of our 2011 NCAA Football Season Previews here.

2010 Record: 8-5 Big East Record: 4-3 (4th) 2011 Returning Starters: 13; 7 offense, 5 defense, kicker

Coach: Doug Marrone, 12-13 (2 years)

Offensive Coordinators: Nathaniel Hackett Defensive Coordinators: Scott Shafer

2011 Syracuse Players to Watch: QB Ryan Nasslb, RB Antwon Bailey, WRVan Chew, OT Justin Pugh, DE Chandler Jones, DE Mikhail Marinovlch, LB Marquis Spruill, FS Phillip Thomas

2011 Syracuse Strengths:
Expect major improvement from an offensive line that returns four starters. The passing game should be more effective because of that and because QB Ryan Nassib and his top five receivers return. Jones will vie for All-Big East honors from his defensive end spot.

2011 Syracuse Weaknesses:
The linebacking corps offers little in the way of experience after being the team’s dominant unit a year ago. Both comers will be first-year starters, as will both tackles. Bailey needs to stay healthy because there’s no proven commodity behind him and the running game is vital to the Orange.

2011 Syracuse Offense:

New offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, whose role was expanded in the offseason, can hardly contain his enthusiasm about an Orange unit that returns starters at eight of 11 positions. Junior quarterback Ryan Nassib has a veteran line and receiving corps, and versatile senior tailback Antwon Bailey is an able replacement for leading rusher Delone Carter. Bailey, an inch shorter and about 25 pounds lighter than Carter, was the team’s second-leading rusher (569 yards) and receiver (35 catches). All five of SU’s top receivers return, including wideouts Van Chew, Marcus Sales and Alec Lemon, as well as tight end Nick Provo and Bailey. However, Sales’ status with the team could be in doubt after an arrest in late July. Chew led the team with 41 catches last year after combining for 10 receptions in his first two seasons. The only newcomer to the offensive line is center Macky MacPherson the grandson of former Syracuse coach Dick McPherson and for the first time in several years there’s depth at guard and tackle. The Orange scored just over 22 points per game in 2010, but averaged less than 17 in Big East games. Those numbers should go way up this year.

2011 Syracuse Defense:

While the Orange offense struggled in 2010, the defense usually shined. The stingy unit was directly responsible for three of the Orange’s four Big East wins. But eight seniors, seven of them starters, are gone from a unit that allowed less than 20 points per game. The Orange need to replace both defensive tackles, both cornerbacks and two of three linebackers. Junior end Chandler Jones could emerge as a star, and his bookend, senior Mikhail Marinovich, will be vital to any success on this side of the ball. A pair of junior safeties (Shamarko Thomas and Phillip Thomas) will add stability in the backfield. A fifth-year senior (Kevyn Scott) and a pair of sophomores (Keon Lyn and Ri’Shard Anderson) are competing for the cornerback spots. After starting on the outside as a freshman, linebacker Marquis Spruill moves into the middle this year. He’ll have inexperience on either side.

2011 Syracuse Special Teams:

Syracuse couldn’t have asked for more than what placekicker Ross Krautman produced as a true freshman. He went 18 of 19 on field goal attempts, including 16 in a row at one point. Shane Raupers, a former scholarship player who returned as a walkon, will take over as the punter for Rob Long, the Big East’s best a year ago.

2011 Syracuse Football Schedule | Syracuse Football Sportsbooks

2011 Syracuse Predictions:

After turning a 4–8 record into an 8–5 campaign in 2010 and earning its first bowl invite in six years, a program that spent five seasons as a Big East laughingstock was suddenly back on the fringes of the top 25. But 13 seniors played key roles for last year’s Orange, eight of them on defense. The equation could be pretty simple for Doug Marrone’s team: Can a much-improved offense balance a young, inexperienced defense? The units might swap roles this season, with the offense riding in to save the day while the defense struggles to find itself. If the defense comes together, this team could again surprise people in 2011. If the offense struggles, the Orange could take a step backward this fall.

2011 Syracuse Betting Odds:

Syracuse Current odds to win a National Championship: +5000

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NCAA Football Handicapping Picks

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