The Daily Sweat: Boston College heads to Syracuse on a four-game win streak

Boston College heads to Syracuse on Friday night in a game that’s massive for each team’s hopes of finishing the season above .500.

The Orange are 3-point favorites at home and enter Week 10 at 4-4. Boston College is 5-3 and one win away from a bowl berth.

Boston College is on a four-game win streak after starting the season 1-3. The Eagles opened the season with a home loss to Northern Illinois and lost to Florida State and Louisville before finally getting a win over an FBS team in Week 5 against Virginia.

That was the start of a streak that also includes wins over Army, Georgia Tech and UConn.

QB Thomas Castellanos is the Eagles’ leading rusher and the only player with more than 100 carries so far this season. Castellanos has rushed 125 times for 673 yards and has nine touchdowns on the ground. He’s also thrown for 1,549 yards and 11 TDs with seven interceptions. He’s completing 59% of his passes.

If the Eagles win Friday night, they have a chance at a seven-win season with games vs. Virginia Tech, at Pitt and against Miami to end the season.

While Boston College is looking for a fifth straight win, Syracuse is looking to avoid a five-game losing streak. The Orange started the season 4-0 but have lost all four of the ACC games they’ve played so far this season. And none of them have been close. Syracuse has been outscored 150-34 in ACC play so far this season.

QB Garrett Shrader has been sacked 25 times through the first eight games as he’s scored 15 total touchdowns. In an odd stat, Shrader and backup QB Carlos Del Rio-Wilson have combined to throw 12 touchdowns and no receiver has caught more than two TDs. Nine Syracuse players have at least one touchdown catch so far this season.

With games remaining against Pitt, Georgia Tech and Wake Forest, the Orange need the win over Boston College to feel good about their chances for a bowl game. If BC gets the win, it’s very likely Syracuse will head to Wake Forest in the final week of the season needing a victory for the postseason.

If you’re looking to bet on the game, we lean toward the over with a 51-point total. That’s the magic number for Boston College so far this season. The Eagles have played in three games with exactly 51 points and all but one of their eight games have included 51 or more points.

Wyoming a home favorite against Colorado State

Colorado State is another team playing Friday night that really needs a win for its chances of making a bowl game. The Rams are 6.5-point underdogs at Wyoming and are 3-5. A loss Saturday night to the Cowboys means CSU must run the table against San Diego State, Nevada and Hawaii to get to 6-6. Those are three winnable games; but CSU will have a margin for error if they can score the upset.

Wyoming, meanwhile, has lost two straight after starting the season 5-1. The Cowboys lost 34-27 at Air Force in Week 7 before losing 32-7 at Boise State in Week 9. That game was Boise State’s best performance of the season. The total in this one is just 41.5 and we also lean to the over. The winning team has scored at least 31 points in six of Wyoming’s eight games so far and the lowest combined point total in any Colorado State game in 2023 has been 43.

Seven NBA games

The New York Knicks visit the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night as the Bucks are 7.5-point favorites despite a 2-2 start to the season so far. That’s the second-biggest spread of all the games on Friday night. Only Miami is a bigger favorite (-9.5 against Washington).

We’re looking to Oklahoma City and Denver for the two more entertaining contests of the evening. The Thunder host the Golden State Warriors while the Mavericks visit the Nuggets. Golden State is a 5.5-point favorite in OKC while Denver is a 6.5-point favorite against Dallas.

Who cashed tickets Thursday?

The Steelers hung on as slight favorites in a 20-16 win over the Titans on Thursday night. Pittsburgh moved to 5-3 with the win while Tennessee dropped to 3-5.

The Pelicans got a 125-116 win in Denver and the 76ers won easily in Toronto as the Raptors continue to struggle to start the season. San Antonio also got an 11-point win over Phoenix as Victor Wembanyama had his best NBA game yet with 38 points.