Duke vs Syracuse Prediction, Picks & Odds for September 27 — College Football Week 5

Scimia's prediction: With both teams stronger on offense than defense, expect Duke and Syracuse to light up the scoreboard.

Ed Scimia - Contributor at Covers.com
Ed Scimia • Betting Analyst
Sep 26, 2025 • 15:37 ET • 4 min read

NCAAF

Match starts: 17 hrs
SYR
72 %
DUKE
28 %
EXPERT PICK - TOTAL
o58.5 (-115)
Read Analysis
Yasin Willis Syracuse Orange NCAAF
Photo By - Imagn Images. Syracuse Orange running back Yasin Willis (6) runs the ball for a touchdown.

The Syracuse Orange will look to run their winning streak to four games as they host the Duke Blue Devils at the JMA Wireless Dome on Saturday afternoon.

These teams are both much better at scoring points than shutting down their opponents, which is why I’m taking the Over in my Duke vs. Syracuse predictions.

Read on to see the full analysis of this ACC matchup along with my free college football picks for Saturday, September 27.

Duke vs Syracuse prediction

Duke vs Syracuse best bet: Over 60.5 (-115)

Both the Syracuse Orange and the Duke Blue Devils have taken one approach to winning games this year: outscore opponents to cover up for shaky defenses.

Syracuse is scoring 38.2 ppg while allowing 27.5 ppg in return; Duke has put up 34 ppg, but has seen its opponents respond with an average of 32.2 ppg.

These are the kinds of trends oddsmakers notice too, and they’ve tried to keep up. Yet the Blue Devils have still hit the Over in all four of their games this year, while Syracuse has also made it to the Over in three of their first four contests.

The one potential area of concern is the season-ending injury to Syracuse quarterback Steve Angeli. Hot on the heels of Kyle McCord’s success in the Orange offense last year, Angel has thrown for 1,317 yards and 10 scores before going down against the Clemson Tigers last week.

But backup quarterback Rickie Collins has something of a pedigree as well, serving as a reserve for the LSU Tigers over the past two seasons after being considered a top prospect out of high school.

I don’t expect the Syracuse offense to slow down much with Collins at the helm. Both teams can still score, can’t play much defense, and should hit the Over on Saturday.

Duke vs Syracuse same-game parlay

I think Syracuse is being underrated due to the loss of starting quarterback Steve Angeli.

I’m taking backup QB Rickie Collins to lead the Orange to continued offensive success and get a win for Syracuse.

Duke vs Syracuse SGP

  • Over 60.5
  • Syracuse moneyline
  • Rickie Collins Over 243.5 passing yards

Our deep-ball SGP: All Starts with Collins

Syracuse hasn’t been great in the running game, but Yasin Willis has scored four touchdowns on the ground this year.

If Collins can be productive through the air, Justus Ross-Simmons should add to his total of five scores on the season.

Duke vs Syracuse SGP

  • Over 60.5
  • Syracuse moneyline
  • Rickie Collins Over 243.5 passing yards
  • Yasin Willis anytime TD
  • Justus Ross-Simmons anytime TD

Duke vs Syracuse odds

  • Spread: Duke -4.5 (-115) | Syracuse +4.5 (-105)
  • Moneyline: Duke -188 | Syracuse +155
  • Over/Under: Over 58.5 (-115) | Under 58.5 (-105)

Duke vs Syracuse trend to know

The Over is 4-0 in Duke’s games in the 2025 season. Find more college football betting trends for Duke vs Syracuse.

How to watch Duke vs Syracuse

Location JMA Wireless Dome, Syracuse, NY
Date Saturday, September 27, 2025
Kickoff 12:00 p.m. ET
TV ACC Network

Duke vs Syracuse latest injuries

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Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
Not intended for use in MA.
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Ed Scimia - Covers.com
Betting Analyst

Ed Scimia has been writing about the gaming industry for over 15 years. He graduated from Syracuse University with degrees in Magazine Journalism and Political Science in 2003, and has covered major gambling events like the World Series of Poker in his career. Since joining Covers in 2022, Ed has offered his sports betting analysis primarily on MLB, NFL, college football, and college basketball games, but is willing to take on any sport.

His betting strategy focuses more on finding line value based on deviations from the market rather than traditional handicapping, primarily shopping between DraftKings, FanDuel, and Fanatics in his home state of Connecticut, though he’s not afraid to do deep game analysis to find profitable bets at any book.

Outside of gambling, Ed is an avid curler who competes in mixed doubles on the World Curling Tour and runs a popular curling YouTube channel, Chess on Ice. That experience has come in handy during the Olympics, when he has proven to be a successful curling bettor as well. 

Ed's advice to new bettors is to always open multiple sportsbook accounts and check the odds at each before placing any bet. Successful sports betting is about consistently beating the closing line value, which requires finding spots where one book is offering odds far better than the rest of the market and jumping on those opportunities.

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