2012 Pinstripe Bowl: West Virginia vs. Syracuse odds and lines

Saturday's Pinstripe Bowl boasts one of the weekend's most slender margins as West Virginia and Syracuse face off at Yankee Stadium. It's a contest that features one team that started strong before sagging and another that was slow off the blocks and then surged at the end. Now the high-flying West Virginia Mountaineers are favored by just 3.5 points, according to OddsShark.

Starting the season on a five-game win streak, West Virginia looked poised to be one of the nation's elite following signature wins over Baylor and Texans. However, the back portion of 2012 saw the Mountaineers falter, including a woeful 44-14 loss at the hands of Texas Tech. This is still a team that boasts one of the nation's best passing attacks, but is't unclear if Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey will be enough.

Also finishing 7-5, the Syracuse Orange lost three of their first four games, and found themselves in a hole early. The month of November was good for Syracuse, however, as they managed to win five of their final six games, including an important victory over No. 9 Louisville. Leaning heavily on quarterback Ryan Nassib, the Orange will try to fight fire with fire, using their own passing attack to diffuse West Virginia's high-powered offense.

Spread

West Virginia -3.5

Syracuse +3.5

Over/Under

67 pts