Syracuse hasn’t played a conference game yet but has started the season 4-0 — although Colgate, Western Michigan and Army at home isn’t exactly a bowl schedule. A win at Purdue was a positive sign, even if the Boilermakers aren’t expected to be one of the Big Ten’s best this season.
But now comes October and conference games. EmpireStakes.com — your source for NY sports betting — wanted to see which coaches in the Atlantic Coast Conference have led their teams to success in October. So, we utilized Sports-Reference.com to come up with records for the 10th month of the year. Coaches needed a minimum three years’ experience to qualify, with records at previous schools counting toward the total.
ACC Football Coaches October Records
Here is some information you might find useful if you want to bet college football on one of the New York betting apps currently in operation. Keep in mind, you can’t place a bet on an in-state team such as Syracuse in the Empire State. You can wager on other teams, as long as a New York team is not the opponent.
What’s Ahead for Syracuse
ACC play for the Orange starts Saturday at home against a struggling Clemson team, which could play the bench players and team managers and still be better than Colgate. There is no line on the game at BetMGM NY, but nationally the sportsbook has Syracuse listed as a 7-point and +225 moneyline underdog. Then the real fun begins in October: at No. 15 North Carolina, at No. 5 Florida State, off the following week to recuperate, then at Virginia Tech, a team Purdue beat in Blacksburg.
The month will be a good test for coach Dino Babers, who ranks fifth among ACC coaches when it comes to October games, going 22-18 for a .549 winning percentage. Babers sits behind Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, the runaway leader, UNC’s Mack Brown, Louisville’s Jeff Brohm and FSU’s Mike Norvell with that .549. Babers’ record likely will take a hit this October, however. The ’Cuse could go 0-3 in the month’s games before Halloween, although the Virginia Tech game is definitely winnable.
Unfortunately for Syracuse fans, Babers’ positive October record, which is considerably better than his 18-39 overall conference record, is misleading. The October numbers are skewed by Babers’ successful stops before Syracuse. With the Orange, Babers’ October record is 10-16. The bulk of his wins in October came at Eastern Illinois and Bowling Green, where he went 37-16 overall and 26-5 in conference.
Creative scheduling also has helped. Last October Syracuse went 2-2, and although one of those wins was a home upset over NC State, the other was a 59-0 home whomping of Wagner, an FCS team.
Being home has been a big help to Syracuse in October during Babers’ tenure, maybe because the fall leaves in Syracuse are also orange. During Babers’ seven seasons at the Dome, Syracuse is 8-7 at home but a dismal 2-9 on the road and has lost seven of the last eight away. If the Orange are going to build off their fast start, that will have to change this season as the team won’t be home in October, except to practice.
Last month. EmpireStakes.com looked at how ACC teams fared in September.
