Duke Blue Devils vs Syracuse Orange Pick and Prediction September 27th, 2025
Use Code SSWC Syracuse will be looking to improve upon their great start to the season as it faces the Duke Blue Devils on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. EST in JMA Wireless Dome. Check out our Duke Blue Devils vs Syracuse Orange pick and prediction here!
Duke currently owns a 2-2 record overall with a 1-0 conference record. Considering they finished last year with a 9-4 overall record with a 5-3 conference record, a win here would put them at least on pace with last season, while a loss would demoralize those chances. Meanwhile, Syracuse is riding high with a 3-1 record overall and 1-0 conference record. Syracuse finished fourth in the conference last season, but they are hoping to improve upon that here. Duke is favored by 5.5 points while the total is set at 61.5 points. Can Syracuse provide a home upset win?
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Duke Determined
Duke took down NC State in their most recent contest, winning by a score of 45-33. Darian Mensah went 19/28 passing for 269 yards and three touchdowns. Anderson Castle led the ground game with three touchdowns and 92 yards rushing. Cooper Barakte and Sahmir Hagans were nearly identical on the receiving end with three catches each, including a TD reception. DaShawn Stone had seven tackles and four tackle assists while also securing an interception. Four different players had half a sack and Tre Freeman secured the other pick.
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The transfer portal was relatively quiet for Duke, with nine new players coming in and 14 players leaving the program. Darian Mensah is the biggest transfer to enter Duke football, while Cooper Barakte, Andrel Anthony, and Caleb Weaver are also big names to come in. Maalik Murphy was the biggest name to leave Duke, while Star Thomas and James Pogorelc also left. Duke did a solid job replacing the key players that they lost and with a 2-2 record, they will want to earn a win to put themselves above .500.
Mensah is the primary QB for the Blue Devils with a 67.3% completion percentage for 1,305 yards, 11 touchdowns, and two interceptions. Anderson Castle has the most yards rushing with 193 while obtaining only 22 carries. He also has three of the five rushing touchdowns on the year. Cooper Barkate has the most receiving yards and receptions with 337 and 17, respectively. However, Sahmire Hagans has caught the most TD passes with four. DaShawn Stone has the most total tackles on the team with 31, including 15 solo tackles. Vincent Anthony Jr. is far and away the leading pass rusher with five sacks and Chandler Rivers has three passes defended to lead the squad. Three different players have one interception. Six players are on the injured list, including three offensive linemen. All but one player on the list is considered questionable.
Syracuse Searching for Success
Syracuse earned a massive upset win over the Clemson Tigers, winning by a score of 34-21 in their most recent contest. Steve Agneli completed 18/31 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns, while Rickie Collins also threw a TD pass in the effort. Will Nixon had the only rushing touchdown, but Yasin Willis led the ground game overall with 94 yards on 18 carries. Johntay Cook II had the most catches and receiving yards with six and 113, respectively, but Justus Ross-Simmons was the end-zone target with two TD receptions. Devin Grant had eight tackles and two tackle assists to lead the defense while Braheem Long Jr. had a sack and Davien Kerr had an interception on the day.
The Orange are bringing in 16 new faces to their program, while 24 players have decided to leave the university. Among the top players going out, Maraad Watson, Trebor Pena, and J'Onre Reed are ranked as the top players. However, Syracuse is bringing in TJ Ferguson, Kam Pringle, and Steve Angeli. The Orange have started out 3-1 which is a good sign, but they will need to continue that level of success from here on out.
Angeli is leading the offense with a 62.8% completion percentage for 10 touchdowns and two interceptions. Yasin Willis is the primary rusher with 233 yards and four touchdowns on 52 carries, while Will Nixon is close behind with 40 carries, 175 yards, and two touchdowns. Dan Villari has caught the most passes on the team with 20 but Darrell Gill Jr. has the most yards with 310. Ross-Simmons has the most TD receptions with five. Among the defensive players, Gary Bryant III has a team-high 22 total tackles and Long Jr. has the most sacks with two. Demetres Samuel Jr. had the most passes defended with six and three different players are tied with one interception each. Sixteen players are on the injured list for Syracuse, including Angeli, who is out for the year with a torn Achilles.
Duke vs Syracuse Pick
Spread Pick for Duke vs Syracuse
- Duke -5.5 (4 units)
I was not about to board the hype train of Syracuse anyway, even after they beat Clemson. The injury to Angeli makes me even more confident in Duke to simply outscore the Orange. Duke has won two of the three head-to-head meetings and I doubt Syracuse can come up with a game plan quick enough for Rickie Collins to excel. A lot of people will lean towards Syracuse automatically without seeing that Angeli is injured, so I have confidence that taking Duke is the play here.
Over/Under pick for Duke vs Syracuse
- Over 61.5 (4 units)
Duke is 4-0 on the over this season and while the Orange have lost Angeli, I still have confidence they can put up enough points to reach the over here. The over has been hit in two of their head-to-head meetings, and Duke's defense has given up 33+ points in each of their last three games, including teams like Tulane and Illinois. Syracuse hasn't scored lower than 26 points this season, and I'd much rather trust the offenses of each team rather than the defenses of Duke in particular.
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