South Florida vs. Syracuse 2023 Boca Raton Bowl Odds, Preview & Pick

By Hank Blaine • December 18, 2023

The lone bowl game on Thursday features South Florida of the American Athletic Conference facing Syracuse of the ACC as they meet in the Boca Raton Bowl with the Orange as short favorites on the NCAAF odds despite playing without their starting QB.

The Orange and Bulls were former Big East rivals. USF leads the series 8-2 with the most recent game played at Syracuse in 2016. This will be the first time the two teams compete against each other in a bowl game and first time in the Boca Raton Bowl for both teams. The Orange have previously competed in 27 bowl games and have a 6-4 record in their last 10 bowl appearances from 1997-2022. USF is 6-4 all-time in bowl games.

South Florida Bulls vs. Syracuse Orange 2023 Boca Raton Bowl Game Information

Check out this diagram of FAU Stadium to see which side your team will be on! ️ Syracuse will be the home team for this game and USF is the visitor. Each school will overlook tickets for their own team’s student sections!

Gameday is Thursday, Dec. 21 @ 8 p.m. pic.twitter.com/77kpgiH3hP
— RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl (@BocaBowl) December 13, 2023

When: Thursday, December 21st, 2023, 8:00 PM ET
Where: FAU Stadium, Boca Raton, FL
TV: ESPN
Radio: 102.5 The Bone (South Florida) // TK99 (Syracuse)
Live Stream: ESPN+
College Football Odds: South Florida (-2) // Syracuse (+2)

Why Bet on the South Florida Bulls?

USF’s 5-win improvement over 2022 (6-6 from 1-11) is the second-best in the nation among 130 FBS teams behind only Northwestern (+6, 7-5 from 1-11) and the largest in program history, eclipsing a 4-win improvement from 2014 to 2015. USF has the nation’s 17th-best offense at 455.3 yards per game in the 2023 national statistics.

The Bulls have their 3,000-yard passer in redshirt freshman Byrum Brown (3,078). He also has 745 rushing yards, making him the nation’s second player (along with Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels of LSU) to pass for 3,000 and rush for 700 this season. Brown is on pace to set USF’s season records for touchdown passes and completion percentage. He also has 3,823 yards of total offense (the USF record is 4,342 by Quinton Flowers in 2016).

Sean Atkins, a former walk-on, needs 39 yards to become USF’s first single-season 1,000-yard receiver. Atkins already has 86 catches — breaking the former season record by 19 — and 961 yards – breaking the former season record by 82. Running back Nay’Quan Wright, a transfer from Florida, has rushed for 757 yards, surpassing his four-season career total (753) with the Gators.

The rapid-fire USF offense leads the nation by averaging 82.5 plays per game and has 114 explosive plays (15 yards or greater) this season. USF has run a nation-best 953 plays from scrimmage.

Why Bet on the Syracuse Orange?

Syracuse fired Coach Dino Babers during the regular season with tight ends coach Nunzio Campanile serving as interim head coach in the bowl. He also coached the team in the regular-season finale vs. Wake, which SU had to win, and did, to get bowl eligible. Babers ended his tenure at Syracuse with a 41-55 record over the past eight seasons. Syracuse hired Georgia defensive backs coach Fran Brown as its head coach, giving the Orange a highly regarded recruiter with roots in the Northeast.

The 41-year-old Brown, a native of Camden, New Jersey, spent the past two seasons with Georgia but has never been a head coach. He was part of a national championship team last season. Under the leadership of the defensive coaching staff, the Georgia defense ranked among the national leaders in rushing defense, scoring defense, red zone defense and total defense. He’ll take over right after the bowl game.

SU is led by running back LeQuint Allen, who has rushed for a career-high 1,062 yards on 225 carries in 2023. It marks the 19th time a Syracuse running back has surpassed 1,000 yards rushing in a season. He ranks third in the ACC in rushing. Allen has scored a team-high 10 total touchdowns, nine of which have come on the ground. He has also recorded a team-best 36 receptions and has returned three punts for 82 yards.

Quarterback Garrett Shrader underwent a successful surgery at the conclusion of the regular season and will not participate in the bowl game. Shrader finishes his Orange career near the top of numerous ‘Cuse rankings. He’s third in career completion percentage (.604) and owns two of the best individual seasons in program history. He ranks fourth in career passing efficiency (136.1), fifth in total offense (7,474) and his 213.5 yards per game in the category trails just Donovan McNabb and Eric Dungey for third on the program’s all-time list. His 39 touchdown passes is the sixth-most in program history, while his 70 touchdowns responsible for ranks fourth. He also ends his career inside the top-30 in career rushing yards at ‘Cuse (1,703) and has 31 career rushing TDs, which ranks fourth.

Defensively, linebacker Marlowe Wax leads the team with a career-high 101 tackles. His 5.4 tackles per game ranks 13th in the nation and third in the ACC. Wax has forced a team-best four fumbles this season. That total leads the ACC, ranks seventh nationally and ties for fourth on Syracuse’s single-season record list. He has recorded 35.5 tackles for loss in his career, which ranks seventh on the Orange’s career leader list, while his eight career forced fumbles tie for second in the ‘Cuse record book.

South Florida vs. Syracuse Betting Trends

South Florida is 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games played in December.
Bulls are 6-14 SU in their last 20 games.
The total went over in 7 of South Florida’s last 9 games.
Syracuse is 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games.
Orange are 2-6 SU in their last 8 games.
The total went over in 4 of Syracuse’s last 5 games.

South Florida vs. Syracuse 2023 Boca Raton Bowl Expert Betting Predictions

South Florida take the win on Thursday night.

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