After a rough start to bowl season, we have an intriguing matchup in the 2023 RoofClaim Boca Raton Bowl. The matchup being between the 6-6 South Florida Bulls and the 6-6 Syracuse Orange. South Florida comes in winning their last game of the regular season to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2018. The Bulls have played in 10 bowl games in their program history and they have a 6-4 record in those bowl games. Syracuse comes into this one also winning their last game of the regular season to become bowl eligible for the second straight year. The Orange have appeared in 27 bowl games and have a 16-10-1 record. Syracuse comes in as a three point favorite with the over/under set at 61. With that being said, here is my preview for the 2023 RoofClaim Boca Raton Bowl.
South Florida Bulls
The South Florida Bulls shocked the college football world this year. They were in the game with Alabama early on in the season and they showed why it was not a fluke. South Florida averaged 30.7 points per game and were top 15 in the nation in total yards of offense per game. The Bulls were led by quarterback Byrum Brown. Brown threw for 3,078 passing yards to go along with 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He also rushed for 745 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns. They aren’t losing much in the transfer portal offensively, and they should get their starting left and right guards back. The Bulls offense will be tough to stop for the Orange defense.
Defensively, the Bulls were not so great. They allow 34.9 points per game and give up 466.9 total yards of offense per game. South Florida gave up 30+ points six times in 2023. They have a 1-5 record in those games. The Bulls also gave up 50+ points three times this season. This Syracuse offense isn’t as lethal as some of the offenses that they saw in the AAC. However, they need to have their best showing if they want to win their first bowl game since 2017.
Syracuse Orange
The Syracuse Orange are going through a little bit of a rebuild. They have an interim head coach in Nunzio Campanile. Starting quarterback Garrett Shrader will not play in the bowl game and neither will his backup Carlos Del Rio-Wilson. They are going to have to start redshirt freshman Braden Davis in this Boca Raton matchup. The Orange have former Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord coming in via the transfer portal for next season. However, this Syracuse offense will rely heavily on running back LeQuint Allen. Allen rushed for 1,061 rushing yards on 4.7 yards per carry and added 9 rushing touchdowns. This offense averaged 25.5 points per game this season and their rushing attack is going to be their key to winning this game.
Defensively, the Orange were not terrible in 2023. They allow 23.8 points per game and allow 391.2 total yards of offense per game as well. Syracuse will be without their starting edge rusher Leon Lowery Jr who is entering the transfer portal. The Orange allowed 30+ points in six games in the 2023 season. They had a 1-5 record in those games. Syracuse is going to need a stellar defensive performance if they want to contain this talented USF offense.
Betting Trends
-The over is 7-2 in USF’s last nine games overall.
-USF is 3-17 in their last 20 games overall as an underdog.
-Syracuse is 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games overall.
-The over is 4-1 in Syracuse’s last 5 games overall.
The Don’s Best Bet
We have a 4-6 record (-2.6u) so far into bowl season. I have two plays in this one that will get us back on track here. The two plays that I am taking here are USF +3 -110 and USF +128 with both of them being one unit a piece. I am all about this Bulls offense and I think that Syracuse is going to struggle stopping this offense and their offense is going to struggle putting up points. Ride these two plays to the cash counter and we’ll get back to .500.
