South Florida looks to cap off their season with a bowl win as they face Syracuse in the Boca Raton Bowl. It is time to continue our College Football odds series with a Boca Raton Bowl South Florida-Syracuse prediction, pick, and how to watch.
The Boca Raton Bowl was first played after the 2014 season often featuring a team from the MAC and Conference-USA to begin with. The affiliated conferences have changed over the year, and for the first time, a team from one of the Power Five conferences will be playing in the game, as Syracuse comes in from the ACC. Syracuse will face South Florida from the American Conference. South Florida enters the game at 6-6 on the year. They started the year at 3-2 and narrowly were defeated by Alabama. Still, they stumbled down the stretch. After a loss to UTSA in the second to last game of the year, they had to defeat Charlotte to make a bowl. They did just that, winning 48-14 in their last game of the year.
Meanwhile, Syracuse opened the season hot. They were 4-0 before a major losing streak took over. Syracuse fell to 4-5, needing wins in two of their last three games to make a bowl. They found those wins, beating Pitt and Wake Forest to make a bowl game. Still, the tumble from a 4-0 record to 4-5 cost Dino Babers his job. Now Syracuse will have a new head coach next year, and players on the roster looking to impress him.
These two teams do have a history together. Both of them were members of the Big East from 2005-2013. In that time, South Florida won six of the eight meetings between the two schools. They also played each other in 2015 and 2016, with South Florida winning both of those match-ups as well.
Here are the college football odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
Boca Raton Bowl Odds: South Florida-Syracuse Odds
South Florida: +2.5 (-110)
Syracuse: -2.5 (-110)
Over: 56.5 (-115)
Under: 56.5 (-105)
How to Watch South Florida vs. Syracuse
Time: 8:00 PM ET/ 5:00 PM PT
TV: EPSN
Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)
Why South Florida Will Cover The Spread
South Florida has been solid on offense this year, ranking 40th in the nation in points per game, while sitting 13th in the nation in yards per game. A major part of that has been the passing offense, which was 31st in the nation in passing yards per game this year. The offense is led by Byrum Brown. He completed 64.5 percent of his 403 passing attempts this year, good for 3,101 yards and 23 touchdowns. He had some huge games, with three games with over three passing touchdowns, and also four games with over 300 yards passing.
Still, he has had some turnover issues, with 11 interceptions this year, and interceptions in each of his last five games. Further, he has thrown 23 turnover-worthy passes this year. There was some concern he would not play in this game, due to entering the transfer portal, but he has since announced he will be returning to South Florida.
The running attack was even better than the passing attack this year. South Florida averaged 44.7 rush attempts per game, which was sixth in the nation while sitting 16th in the nation in rush yards per game. Brown led the way there too. He had 953 rushing yards, not adjusted for sack yardage, on the year. He was great after contact with 698 yards after contact this year while scoring 11 times. Meanwhile, Nay'Quan Wright has also been solid for South Florida this year. He has 744 yards on the season, with seven touchdowns on the ground.
Meanwhile, Byrum Brown will be looking to get the ball to Sean Atkins and Naiem Simmons. Atkins comes into the game with 976 yards on the year on 88 catches. He brought in nearly 80 percent of his targets this year, which came down with five touchdowns as well. Naiem Simmons was not as reliable but still had 581 yards and five scores this year.
On defense, this year, South Florida ranks 122nd in points allowed per game while sitting 129th in yards allowed per game this year. They are 87th against the rush and 132nd against the pass. On the pass rush, Jonathan Ross and DJ Gordon lead the way. They both come in with three sacks this year. Meanwhile, Logan Berryhill sits leading the team with three interceptions this year.
Why Syracuse Will Cover The Spread
Syracuse comes in sitting 98th in the nation in points per game this year while sitting 99th in yards per game. They were not great in the passing game, sitting 124th in the nation in passing yards per game, but do sit 35th in rushing yards per game nationally. Garrett Shrader comes in as the leader in the passing offense this year. He passed for 1,693 yards this year on 63.1 percent passing. He had 13 touchdowns this year, and just six interceptions. Shrader was also solid on the ground. He has run for 586 this year in non-sack-adjusted yards. He has also scored eight touchdowns this year. Still, he is out with a shoulder injury, meaning freshman Braden Davis should get the start. HE attempted just one pass this year.
Meanwhile, LaQuint Allen comes in as the leader in rushing yards this year. He has 1,069 yards this year, with nine touchdowns this season. He has been solid after contact this year, with 683 yards after contact on the season. In the receiving game, Damien Alford and Umari Hatcher lead the way. Alford comes in with 527 yards this year and three touchdowns while bringing in over 50 percent of his targets this year. Hatcher comes in with 426 yards and three scores as well on 28 receptions. Hatcher has been a little bit better at holding onto the ball though. He has just one drop this year, while Alford has five.
On defense this year, Syracuse ranked 57th in points allowed per game, while sitting 86th in yards allowed per game this year. They were 65th against the rush and 95th against the pass. The story of this game for the defense is players in the transfer portal. Starting edge rusher Leon Lowery Jr. is in the portal, as is Terry Locket. They combined for 1003 snaps on the defensive line.
Final South Florida-Syracuse Prediction & Pick
The Orange are the favorite in this game, but they’re missing a lot. Their quarterback will have just one pass this year and it was for negative six yards. Meanwhile, they could use their tight end Dan Villari as a wildcat quarterback, but that takes away both a solid receiving option and a solid run blocker in the running game. As long as Byrum Brown does not make too many mistakes, and Syracuse continues to be a team that does not force many turnovers, they should be able to cover in this game.
Final South Florida-Syracuse Prediction & Pick: South Florida +2.5 (-110)
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