Syracuse vs South Florida: Unlikely Matchup at Boca Raton Bowl

The Boca Raton Bowl kicks off this upcoming Thursday. We’ve got the latest updates on lines, injuries, departures and weather right here:

The biggest news heading into the Boca Raton Bowl is that Syracuse starting quarterback Garrett Shrader will miss the game after undergoing shoulder surgery that brings his college career to an end.

Backup quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson is also not expected to play.

That development has impacted the college football lines for the Boca Raton Bowl. Syracuse opened as 5.5-point favorites, but the line has moved to the Orange being favored by three points. The Moneyline has gone from -220 to -155 for Syracuse.

The total went from an opening number of 57.5 and went as high as 61 when it looked like Shrader might play in the game. It has since dropped to 56.5.

Keep an eye on the prop for neither Syracuse nor South Florida scoring at least three times in a row. That currently has +206 odds.

Redshirt freshman Braden Davis is listed as the starter on the Syracuse depth chart.

Davis completed his only pass against Georgia Tech. However, it went for a six-yard loss. He also ran twice for five yards in a season-opening win over Colgate.

Syracuse has turned tight end Dan Villari into a quarterback in the wildcat formation. He was 19 of 22 passing for 122 yards with one touchdown. He also ran 44 times for 289 yards and two NCAAF scores. Villari also has 20 catches with three of them resulting in touchdowns.

If there is a silver lining in this game for Syracuse, it is that South Florida ranked last in the American Athletic Conference in passing defense. The Bulls allow 301.3 passing yards per game.

Only UNLV surrendered more passing plays of at least 20 yards than South Florida.

The majority of the players who led South Florida into the program’s first bowl game since 2018 look good to go in this game.

Each of the first eight Boca Raton Bowls were won by at least 15 points before Toledo edged Liberty 21-19 with the Flames covering as four-point underdogs in the 2022 matchup.

The temperature is expected to be in the low 70s at the time of the opening kickoff with cloudy but mostly dry conditions so the weather shouldn’t have much of an impact on the game’s outcome.

Now, check out the rest of the Boca Raton Bowl preview, originally published on December 11.

Orange, Bulls Set To Meet For the First Time since 2016 in Boca Raton Bowl

There was a time when South Florida and Syracuse used to play annually when both were in the Big East, but the Boca Raton Bowl will be the first matchup between the teams since 2016. Syracuse is favored according to the Boca Raton Bowl College Football Bets.

South Florida won the most recent meeting 45-20 and three of the previous four matchups.

This is a somewhat improbable matchup regarding the college football bowl game schedule. South Florida needed to defeat Charlotte in its regular-season finale, with Syracuse topping Wake Forest to become bowl-eligible as well.

The college football betting lines have Syracuse listed as a 3.5-point favorite, down significantly from the opening number of 5.5. Meanwhile, the total has gone up to 59 from the opening number of 57.5.

South Florida came into the season with an expected regular-season win total of just four. Win No. 5 came against Temple on Nov. 11. Syracuse fell under the predicted win total of 6.5.

South Florida was ahead of only Tulsa, Rice and Charlotte in the odds of winning the American Athletic Conference title coming into the season, while Syracuse had the 10th-best odds of winning the ACC title.

Boca Raton Bowl

Points Come Early and Often in South Florida Games

South Florida games aren’t boring, with the Bulls joining North Texas as the only teams in the American Athletic Conference to not only score more than 30 points per game but to allow at least 30 points as well. That is something to consider when it comes to the Boca Raton Bowl College Football Bets.

South Florida was tied for the conference lead with 19 plays from scrimmage of 40 yards or longer, and the 10 plays of at least 50 yards was one off Memphis’ conference-leading total.

The Bulls allowed more plays from scrimmage of 10 yards, 20 yards and 40 yards than any other American Athletic Conference team, as among AAC squads, only Memphis had more games landed over the total than South Florida’s seven.

The total has gone over in seven of the last nine games played by South Florida.

Departures & Injuries

Georgia defensive backs coach Fran Brown has been hired as the head coach at Syracuse. However, tight end coach Nunzio Campanile will continue to serve as the interim head coach for the bowl game.

For Syracuse, quarterback Garrett Shrader is questionable, while offensive lineman David Wohlabaugh and receiver Oronde Gadsden are out. Linebacker Leon Lowery, who is seventh on Syracuse with 46 tackles and second with 7.5 tackles for loss, has transferred to Wisconsin. Defensive lineman Francois Nolton Jr. joins defensive backs Aman Greenwood, Malcolm Folk and Jakobie Seabourn in the transfer portal.

Quarterback Gerry Bohanon, offensive lineman Zach Perkins and safety Will Jones (15 tackles this season) are in the transfer portal for South Florida, while defensive end Jason Vaughn (10 tackles, two sacks) is out for the season.

Changes Coming In Syracuse

It was just five years ago that Dino Babers’ Syracuse team finished second to Clemson among ACC teams in total offense. Since then, the Orange Syracuse have trended in the wrong direction, with Syracuse having the fewest yards per game in the ACC during the 2020 season.

After Syracuse was held under 300 yards six times in seven games while going 1-6, Babers was fired.

Syracuse piled up 468 yards against Wake Forest in the first game without Babers. Keep that in mind when it comes to the Boca Raton Bowl College Football Bets.

With Sean Tucker, a two-time 1000-yard rusher, off to the NFL, sophomore LeQuint Allen went from rushing for 274 yards to 1062 yards.

Syracuse has covered against the college football spread in just two of its last eight games.

South Florida vs Syracuse Betting Preview

Naturally, the South Florida roster is loaded with players from Florida who get to play in front of friends and family. Syracuse also has some Sunshine State products including defensive lineman Braylen Ingraham, receiver D’Marcus Adams, as well as defensive backs Gregory Delaine and Jeremiah Wilson and kicker Brady Denaburg.

South Florida has scored touchdowns on just 64% of its drives reaching the red zone, while no team allows touchdowns more frequently on red zone drives than the Bulls among American Athletic Conference teams.

Both NCAAF teams have been mediocre against the spread this season with South Florida covering in six of 12 games and Syracuse going 5-6-1 against the college football lines this season.

Syracuse has covered in both of its neutral-site games over the last four seasons, while South Florida hasn’t played a neutral-site game since 2018.

A win would give Syracuse back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since the 2012 and 2013 seasons.

The Orange is looking for its first bowl win since the 2018 Camping Bowl win over West Virginia.

When looking at NCAAF matchups, South Florida is playing in a bowl game for the first time since falling to Marshall in the 2018 Gasparilla Bowl and hasn’t won a bowl game since a 38-34 victory versus Texas Tech in the 2017 Birmingham Bowl.

Four of the last five games played by Syracuse finished over the total, with the total set at 57.5 for this matchup. Keep that in mind when it comes to the NCAA bowl odds predictions.

Syracuse is 4-1-1 against the spread this season when listed as the favorite. South Florida has covered in five of its seven games as an underdog.

ForNCAAF news, betting odds, analysis and more, visitPoint SpreadsSports Magazine

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