A couple of teams that barely squeaked into the postseason meet up in the 2023 Boca Raton Bowl at FAU Stadium in Boca Raton, Florida. The game being played in the Sunshine State gives a travel advantage to the South Florida Bulls (6-6), especially considering the Syracuse Orange (6-6) have to work through an injury that will keep their starting QB out of this matchup.
Before Betting on South Florida vs Syracuse
Dual threat RB Garrett Schrader will miss this game after injuring his shoulder in the season finale win over Wake Forest. Schrader had been a 3-year starter for the Orange, so his experience will be missed on Thursday night.
Making matters worse for Syracuse is the fact that backup QB Carlos Del Rio-Wilson is also out for the Boca Raton Bowl due to undisclosed reasons. The Orange used TE Dan Villari in the wildcat formation late against Wake Forest and he had success, going 2/2 with a TD pass, running for 51 yards, and also catching a TD. It doesn’t hurt Syracuse’s chances that South Florida had one of the worst defenses in the nation this season, giving up 455.3 total yards/game including 301.3 through the air.
Despite their defense being atrocious, South Florida can still win this game because a) it looks like Syracuse will be playing without a true QB b) USF is playing relatively close to home, and c) the Bulls’ offense is pretty good. South Florida ranked in the top 30 in both rush yards and pass yards per game, and put up 30.8 ppg on the season.
2023 Boca Raton Bowl Offshore Betting Odds
| Offshore Sportsbook | Moneyline | Total | Point Spread |
|---|---|---|---|
| BetOnline | USF (2.42) | CUSE (1.62) | 55.5 | USF +3 (1.94) | CUSE -3 (1.88) |
| MyBookie | USF (2.30) | CUSE (1.67) | 56 | USF +3 (1.91) | CUSE -3 (1.91) |
| BetUS | USF (2.40) | CUSE (1.62) | 55.5 | USF +3 (1.90) | CUSE -3 (1.90) |
| SportsBetting.ag | USF (2.42) | CUSE (1.62) | 55.5 | USF +3 (1.94) | CUSE -3 (1.88) |
| XBet | USF (2.30) | CUSE (1.67) | 56 | USF +3 (1.91) | CUSE -3 (1.91) |
2023 Boca Raton Bowl Prediction & Pick
First year USF coach Alex Golesh is motivated to get his team a bowl win considering they haven’t played in the postseason since 2018 and had won just four games total in the previous three seasons. The South Florida defense is a concern, but so is the fact that Syracuse is very thin at the QB position.
