Syracuse Orange Football: DIRECTV Holiday Bowl Predictions and Poll

The Syracuse Orange (9-3) will seek their 10th win of 2024 tonight in the DIRECTV Holiday Bowl when they face PAC 12 Champions the Washington State Cougars (8-4). It’s a primetime game with kickoff at 8:00 a.m. on FOX and here’s our prediction:

Kevin: Syracuse 41, Washington State 20

The Orange will be on the other side of last year – a weakened team with an interim coach who is just happy to be somewhere warm for a few days. I expect Syracuse’s offense to falter in the first half, allowing Fran Brown to clear his bench to give us a glimpse of the 2025 Orange in the second half. Kyle McCord is getting another 300-yard game and Syracuse has three wide receivers with over 950 yards on the season (Meeks, Pena and Gadsden).

Cathedral: Syracuse 31, Washington State 13

Cold Take: My guess is that what’s left of Washington State’s offense can’t keep up with Syracuse’s largely intact offense. The Orange will get off to a strong start in the first half (I’m going 17-0) before the Cougars put some boards on the board late when the game is already over. Syracuse is still covering the spread (currently -16 on ESPN), largely because Washington State simply won’t be able to keep up with scoring the ball.

Microphone: Syracuse 38, Washington State 16

Despite reports that many of Wazzu’s transfer portal players could hold their own tonight, I’m not too worried about an offense not led by John Mateer. McCord and his corps. will destroy another secondary in the first half and build a sizable lead, giving us a glimpse of some future Orange starters in the second half. The Cougs pull off a drive in garbage time, but otherwise it’s a great way to cap off Fran Brown’s first year at Syracuse.

Christian: Syracuse 38, Washington State 20

Syracuse should easily win this game. Washington State is 8-4, but they enter this game on a three-game losing streak. All three games the Cougars lost at the end of the season came against non-bowl eligible teams. Add to that Mateer’s absence from this game, and things aren’t looking good for the Cougars. Plus, it won’t take long for Syracuse fans to remember what happened in the Orange’s last win in a bowl game. If you recall, West Virginia started its backup quarterback in 2018 when Will Grier sat out that game. It’s time for Syracuse’s potent offense, led by Kyle McCord, to once again shine on the national stage.

Maximum: Syracuse 41, Washington State 21

Opting out is an unfortunate part of college football today. But as Kevin said, it should help Orange this year after last year’s Boca Raton disaster. I just don’t understand how WSU can play a full 60 minutes against Syracuse’s premier air attack. McCord should break down the Cougars’ secondary (whose starters allowed nearly 30 points per game on a much easier schedule than SU), while the lack of materless reps will occasionally rattle Washington State. However, that shouldn’t detract from the Orange’s victory, as ten wins in Fran Brown’s first season is a fantastic achievement and a big building block for 2025.

Carson: Syracuse 38, Washington State 17

The Washington State team plays No. 21 Syracuse on Friday not the same team that started the season at the end of August. After a promising 8-1 start, the Cougars lost their final three games of the regular season to New Mexico, Oregon State and Wyoming. And since then, State head coach Jake Dickert was hired as the next football coach at Wake Forest, defensive coordinator Jeff Schmedding and offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle moved to Oklahoma, and according to On3 Sports, Washington State has 38 players entering the transfer portal, including Starting quarterback John Mateer (who also goes to Norman)…I think Syracuse gets its 10th win against a Washington State team that is limping to the finish line.

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What is your prediction for this game?