Syracuse vs SMU Prediction 10/4/2025 Today’s College Football Picks

Syracuse and SMU meet Saturday in Week 6 college football action from Gerland J Ford Stadium. Here’s a Syracuse vs SMU prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Virginia Tech Hokies vs NC State Wolfpack pick. We will examine:

The Syracuse Orange’ recent form and player performance

The SMU Mustangs’ recent form and player performance

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Orange

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Mustangs

Recent betting trends in games played between Syracuse and SMU

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Syracuse and SMU game.

Syracuse Are in Trouble

Syracuse lost their starting quarterback and now it appears to be in a whole lot of trouble. In the last game, they faced off against a Duke team that isn’t all that good, and they ended up losing 38-3. Rickie Collins didn’t play awful under center, he just couldn’t get the ball into the end zone. Collins completed 24 of his 37 passes for 229 yards and a touchdown. Collins finished the game completing 24 of his 37 passes for 229 yards, zero touchdowns, and one interception. Johntay Cook had a huge game finished with seven catches for 76 yards.

Syracuse on the season is averaging 31.2 points while their defense is giving up 29.6 points per game. The offense is ranked 64th while the pitching is ranked 112th. For Syracuse in this game, they need to get better quarterback play. If the quarterback play is a problem here, Syracuse is going to lose another game in blowout fashion. 

Why the Syracuse Orange will win

• Syracuse has won seven of its last nine games.
• SMU has failed to cover the spread in each of its last four games as a favorite.
• The underdog has covered the spread in three of SMU’s last four games.

Big Chance for SMU

SMU knows with a win here, they get back on the right track, and this is a great opportunity for that with them. SMU is coming off a bye week, but in the last game against TCU, they were knocked off 35-24. SMU’s defense failed them late, giving up 14 points in the 4th quarter, and that led to the defeat. Kevin Jennings completed 24 of his 38 passes for 290 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions. He played well, except for the turnovers, and that will need to be cleaned up in a big way. 

SMU on the season is averaging 34.8 points while their defense is giving up 26.5 points per game. The offense is ranked 46th, while the defense is ranked 90th. The offense needs to find success moving the ball, and Jennings needs to not be turning the ball over in this game. If they continue to turn the ball over, this could end up being a very long game, and a very bad loss. 

Why the SMU Mustangs will win

• SMU has won 18 of its last 19 games against conference opponents.
• Syracuse has lost 10 of its last 11 October games as an underdog against non-AP-ranked teams.
• SMU has covered the spread in six of its last seven games against conference opponents at Gerald J. Ford Stadium.
• Syracuse has failed to cover the spread in four of its last five October games as a road underdog.

Syracuse vs SMU Prediction

If this was three weeks ago before the injury, I would love Syracuse in this game, but they are onto their backup quarterback, and that is a problem for their chances here. Syracuse struggled to get the offense moving, and that is going to be a major problem again here. SMU has the real deal under center with Jennings and he’s going to have a huge game here. Jennings is going to throw a couple of touchdowns, he’s not going to throw any interceptions, and the Mustangs are going to end up cruising here to an easy victory. Back SMU to cover the spread.