Saturday College Ball with Akron Zips at Syracuse Orange

The Akron Zips (0-1 SU, 1-0 ATS) and the Syracuse Orange (0-1 SU & ATS), both having been kicked around a little in their season openers, will do battle on Saturday at 3:30 PM ET at the Carrier Dome (artificial turf) in Syracuse.

Saturday, September 6

BetUS NCAA Football Betting Odds: SYRACUSE -4.5

Here are some of the NCAA football betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

* AK has lost six of its last seven games SU

* AK has played four of its last five games OVER the total

* AK has covered four of its last 13 road games

* AK has lost 12 of its last 13 road games SU

* AK has played five of its last seven road games OVER the total

* SYR has covered four of its last 14 games

* SYR has lost eight of its last nine games SU

* SYR has played five of its last seven games UNDER the total

* SYR has covered two of its last seven home games

* SYR has lost six of its last seven home games SU

Akron simply could not slow down the Wisconsin attack, which gained 6.4 yards an attempt (404 yards total) on the ground in pounding out a 38-17 victory. And things could have gotten worse. Akron intercepted a pass in the end zone to thwart what was almost a certain UW scoring drive. Interestingly enough, the Orange yielded 6.4 yards a carry against Northwestern in their 30-10 defeat. QB Andrew Robinson was way off the mark most of the time, completing just 14 of 28 passes.

This season a big concern for coach Greg Robinson (no relation tor he QB) was Syracuse's ability (or lack of same) in protecting its quarterback. He'd be relieved that Akron's pass rush (21 sacks last year) doesn't necessarily loom as a big threat to what the Orange wants to do, and the Syracuse rushing attack (122 yards last week - not overly imposing but showing progress) ought to do some business.

But there is still too much inconsistency in the Syracuse offense, which has produced more than 20 points only six times since November of 2004. With only 11 first downs, three third-down conversions and the lack of a go-to receiver to replace Mike Williams (60 catches and 10 TD"s last year, but thrown out of school), we don't have much to recommend Syracuse on. Meanwhile, Akron's Chris Jacquemain, who has potential, at least used his garbage time to advantage, completing 22 of 36 against the Badgers with two touchdowns without an interception.

This is not to say Akron is ready to make major strides, but at this point we might be poised to take any points available against Syracuse, a team that may not be ready to demonstrate that it is prepared to take a big step forward in the Big East. So, though not a huge call here, it's the Zips, the 4.5-point underdogs in the BetUS NCAA betting odds.

JAY'S PLAY: AKRON +4.5 **

(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

(Charles Jay of http://www.ebookies.com gives it more than the old college try as a contributor to the BetUS Locker Room)