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The lone bowl game on Thursday around college football features South Florida of the American Athletic Conference against Syracuse of the ACC as they meet not too far from the USF campus in the Boca Raton Bowl with the Orange favored despite not having starting QB Garrett Shrader. 2023 Boca Raton Bowl Betting & Expert Analysis USF vs Syracuse | MyBookie Sportsbook Bowls Odds, 2023/24 CFP College Bowl Game Lines

How to Bet USF vs. Syracuse NCAA Football Odds & TV Info

When: Thursday, 8 PM ET
Where: FAU Stadium, Boca Raton, Fla.
TV: ESPN
Stream: ESPN+
Radio: Tunein.com
Opening NCAAF Lines: Syracuse -3 (total 56)

Series History

Syracuse and USF were both previously Big East Conference members and have met a total of 10 times. Currently, the Bulls hold an 8-2 record against the Orange with their 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-ever appearance in the Boca Raton Bowl for both teams.

Why Bet on South Florida?

USF (6-6) also had to win its regular-season finale to get bowl eligible and routed Charlotte 48-14. The Bulls’ five-win improvement over 2022 (when they were 1-11) ranks as the greatest turnaround in program history and is the second-best in the nation among 130 FBS teams behind only Northwestern (+6, 7-5 from 1-11).

Alex Golesh is in his first season as head coach at South Florida. He took over the helm of the Bulls’ program after serving as the offensive coordinator at Tennessee for two seasons. Golesh’s offense enters the bowl game having posted: 1) the program’s first 3,000-yard passer, 2) the individual record for season receptions, 3) the record for season receiving yards, 4) the team season passing yardage record, and 5) the sixth 5,000-yard team total offense season, while looking to post: 1) the second individual 4,000-yard total offense season in program history, 2) the best individual season pass completion percentage, 3) the program’s first 1,000-yard receiver in a season and 4) third 6,000-yard season.

QB Byrum Brown leads the Bulls’ offense that ranks 16th in the nation (455.3 ypg.). He has completed 257-of-401 passes for 3,078 yards. Brown ranks second on the team with 745 rushing yards and a team-best 11 touchdowns. Brown is No. 7 in the FBS and No. 1 in the AAC in total offense (318), and his 3,823 yards are 3rd-best in program history, 177 shy of the second 4,000-yard season at the school. Brown has a USF record tying four 300-yard passing games and three 100-yard rushing efforts.

Sean Atkins has set program records for receptions and receiving yards this year. Atkins has seven or more receptions in each of the last seven games, as he is shattering USF’s season receptions record (67) with 86 catches and USF’s season receiving yards mark (879), now with 961, just 39 shy of the first 1,000-yard receiving season at USF. Running back Nay’Quan Wright’s 757 rushing yards and 7 TD on the season rank No. 6 in the AAC and have surpassed his career four-year total at Florida, where he played in 33 games, logging 189 carries for 753 yards and five touchdowns.

Defensively, linebacker Jhalyn Shuler leads South Florida with 85 tackles on the year. He also recorded seven TFLs and four pass breakups. Shuler has helped USF rank 10th nationally in tackles for loss, averaging 7.3 per game. USF’s new defense under coordinator Todd Orlando has dialed up the pressure as USF ranks No. 8 nationally in TFL (7.3 tpg).

The Bulls are 6-4 all-time in bowl games and it’s their first 2018 appearance in one since the 2018 Gasparilla Bowl. It will mark the Bulls’ fourth Bowl appearance in the state of Florida, adding the Boca Raton Bowl to Gasparilla (2018), Miami Beach (2015) and St. Petersburg (2008) bowl appearances.

Why Bet on Syracuse?

Bit of a weird year for Syracuse (6-6) as it started 4-0 and then lost five straight before turning things around a bit at the end. However, after the team’s second-to-last game, a 31-22 loss at Georgia Tech, the school fired Coach Dino Babers, ending his tenure at the university with a 41-55 record over the past eight seasons. Tight ends coach Nunzio Campanile was named interim coach. He was previously the interim coach at Rutgers, leading the Scarlet Knights for eight games after Chris Ash was fired in 2019.

The Orange had to win their finale vs. Wake Forest on Nov. 25 under Campanile to get bowl eligible and did, 35-31. Garrett Shrader threw for three touchdowns and ran for another, Daniel Villari threw for one and rushed for one, Damien Alford had two scores, and Syracuse became bowl eligible for the second straight season.

With Wake Forest trailing 35-31 and headed for a potential game-winning score, Syracuse’s Jason Simmons intercepted Michael Kern at the 1-yard-line with two minutes remaining to secure the win. It increased Syracuse’s turnovers gained total to 21 this season. That figure includes 12 fumble recoveries, which lead the ACC and rank third in the nation.

Orange tailback LeQuint Allen Jr. recorded a career-best 145 yards rushing yards, giving him 1,062 for the season. It marks the third-consecutive season that a Syracuse rusher has surpassed 1,000 yards in a season. Allen Jr. leads a group of five members of the Orange named to the All-ACC teams. Allen Jr. was voted to the All-ACC Second Team as a running back. LB Marlowe Wax also earned second-team All-ACC honors. Punter Jack Stonehouse was selected to the All-ACC Third Team.

Shrader will miss the bowl game after shoulder surgery, ending his college career. He was limited in Syracuse’s last four games of the season while dealing with a shoulder injury. Instead, the Orange turned to tight end Dan Villari, who largely served as a Wildcat option. Shrader did play a bigger role in the team’s regular-season finale against Wake Forest. He finished 2023 with 13 passing touchdowns and eight more on the ground. Villari has completed his last 17 passes, including 16-for-16 in his last two games.

The bowl trip marks the Orange’s 28th bowl game, where the program holds a 16-10-1 record. Syracuse’s .611 winning percentage ranks eighth among FBS teams with 15-or-more bowl games played.

After the bowl game, Georgia defensive backs coach Fran Brown takes over as the head coach. Brown is considered one of the nation’s top recruiters and already has landed former Ohio State starting QB Kyle McCord in the portal for 2024. Texas A&M‘s Elijah Robinson hired as defensive coordinator, but won’t join the team until after the bowls.

NCAAF Boca Raton Bowl Expert Prediction

USF 30, Syracuse 27

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