Saturday is about as far as Cal can travel for a college football game and still be in this country. The Bears got spanked at home this past Saturday by UCLA in the head coaching debut of Cal's Tosh Lupoi. Syracuse is in a make-or-break season under third-year coach Fran Brown. The Orange looked maybe better than they ever have under Brown in Week 1 by smashing little New Hampshire 66-3. Last season, playing without injured QB Steve Angeli, who was out with injury, SU posted 68 points combined in the final six games. Angeli was outstanding vs. UNH.
I played Syracuse last week, noting everything went wrong for the Orange in 2025, and I expect them to be much improved this season. Granted, it was against lowly New Hampshire, but it's obvious the team has more talent. Quarterback Steve Angeli returning from injury is huge for the Orange and I like the matchup overall against a Cal defense that allowed 277 rushing yards to UCLA. Add in the awful travel spot for the Golden Bears, and I'll take Syracuse on the ML for a half unit.
