First-year head coach Alex Golesh and the Bulls will continue one of the top College Football Betting turnarounds in college football. To illuminate, South Florida is making the program’s 11th bowl appearance. And the first since 2018. The Bulls will take on Syracuse in the Roofclaim.com Boca Raton Bowl. USF football’s five-win improvement over 2022 ranks as the greatest turnaround in program history. Also, it is tied with Liberty for the second-best in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) in 2023. It is behind only Northwestern’s six-win improvement.
Boca Raton Bowl South Florida Bulls vs. Syracuse Orange Betting Information
| Date and Time: | Thursday, December 21, 2023, 8 p.m. ET. |
|---|---|
| Location: | FAU Stadium, Boca Raton, FL. |
| TV Coverage: | ESPN |
| Team | Spread | Total | ML | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Syracuse | -3½ -110 | 61 -110 | -165 |  |
| South Florida | +3½ -110 | 61 -110 | +140 | |
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Boca Raton Bowl Format
At the onset in 2015, the Boca Raton Bowl is played at Florida Atlantic University Stadium, home of the FAU Owls. The Conference tie-ins include CUSA, The American, MAC, Mountain West, and Sun Belt. The payout is $900,000.
Boca Raton Bowl Recent Results
The Boca Raton Bowl is where BYU quarterback Zach Wilson became the second-ranked quarterback for the NFL Draft. In the 2020 Boca Raton Bowl, Wilson was 26-34 passing, good for 425 yards and three touchdowns. Subsequently, Wilson was the second player taken in the 2021 NFL Draft by the New York Jets, following Trevor Lawrence of Clemson. This bowl game is known for a lot of offense and exciting sports betting shootouts.
In 2022, Toledo beat Liberty 21-19, holding after taking a 21-7 lead. Liberty failed on a 2-point conversion with 3:40 to play. Hence, they fell just short of forcing overtime. Jacquez Stuart ran for 111 yards to lead Toledo. Dequan Finn threw for 133 yards and a TD to pace the Rockets.
Boca Raton Bowl Matchup
Last game, the USF Bulls won 48-14 against the Charlotte 49ers as 6-point home favorites. The game went over the College Football Betting total of 57. USF has a record of 6-6 straight up, 6-6 against the spread, and 7-5 over/under the total. USF ranks 15th for total offense, 31st for passing, 28th for rushing, and 48th for scoring. Defensively, they rank 131st overall, 133rd against the pass, 71st against the rush, and 124th for points allowed. Also, USF ranks 109th for fewest turnovers lost and 30th for takeaways.
USF is 6-4 all-time in bowl games, with notable victories over Clemson, South Carolina, and Texas Tech. This will mark the Bulls’ fourth bowl game appearance in the state of Florida, having previously played in the St. Petersburg Bowl (2008), Miami Beach Bowl (2015), and Gasparilla Bowl (2018).
Last game, the Syracuse Orange won 35-31 against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons as 2.5-point home favorites. The game went over the total of 43.5. Syracuse has a record of 6-6 straight up, 5-6-1 against the spread, and 5-7 over/under the total. Syracuse ranks 87th for total offense, 116th for passing, 31st for rushing, and 81st for scoring. Defensively, they rank 65th overall, 74th against the pass, 57th against the rush, and 51st for points allowed. Also, Syracuse ranks 78th for fewest turnovers lost and 89th for takeaways.
Boca Raton Bowl Prediction
USF and Syracuse, former BIG EAST Conference members, have met ten times, with the Bulls holding an 8-2 series lead, including most recent victories in Tampa in 2015 (45-24) and at Syracuse in 2016 (45-20). This will be the first meeting in a bowl game and marks the Bulls’ 11th different bowl opponent. In this situation, Syracuse has the better defense and comes from the better Conference.