The Syracuse Orange and South Florida Bulls will face off in the 10th annual Boca Raton Bowl. The former Big East rivals will get to reignite the rivalry on Thursday night in Florida. Syracuse snuck into bowl eligibility with a 6-6 record. They won their final game of the regular season 35-31 over the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Syracuse lost five games in a row mid-season but won two of their last three to get six wins. South Florida also earned bowl eligibility in their final game of the season, picking up a 48-14 win over Charlotte. South Florida was a top-25 offensive team in the country, but their defense couldn't assist in leading the group to a better record.
When and where is Syracuse vs. South Florida?
The Boca Raton Bowl between Syracuse and South Florida will be at FAU Stadium in Boca Raton, Florida. Kickoff is at 8 p.m. on Thursday, December 21st.
How to watch the Boca Raton Bowl
The game will be broadcast on ESPN. It can also be found on ESPN+.
Date: Thursday, December 21st | Time: 8 p.m. ET
Location: FAU Stadium — Boca Raton, Florida
TV channel: ESPN | Live stream: fuboTV
*Watch college football LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Syracuse storylines
Syracuse started the season strong with a 4-0 record, including an impressive non-conference win over Purdue. The strong start made people believe they could be a contender in the ACC, but they failed to show up against the conference competition. They lost at home to Clemson and were blown out on the road by North Carolina, Florida State, and Virginia Tech. They had the chance to rebound at home against lowly Boston College, but their starting quarterback was unavailable, and the backup, Carlos Del Rio-Wilson, threw four interceptions. A season that began with four consecutive wins was now in danger of finishing without a bowl appearance. Syracuse rebounded with two wins in their final three games to get bowl eligibility and slot into the Boca Raton Bowl.
Syracuse fired Dino Babers last month, naming Nunzio Campanile as his replacement. Nunzio led the team to a win over Wake Forest and an improbable bowl game. Campanile will work the sidelines on Thursday, but Syracuse decided to hire Fran Brown to be their head coach next season. This will be the first time Syracuse has played back-to-back bowl games since the 2012 and 2013 seasons.
Syracuse will be without the top two quarterbacks on their depth chart for the Boca Raton Bowl. Garrett Shrader was the team's starter until a shoulder injury sidelined him for points at the end of the season. Shrader miraculously returned for the regular season finale against Wake Forest, throwing three touchdowns. Shrader opted to get shoulder surgery after the game but was proud that he could lead the team to their bowl game before doing so.
“It was important for me to get our team to a bowl game,” Shrader said. “I would have (gotten surgery) earlier in the season, but I wanted to wait until we got bowl-eligible. This team has too much talent and works too hard not to play a 13th game.”
South Florida Storylines
South Florida may have had the best resurgence in college football this season. While many eyes were on Colorado's turnaround, Buffalo made a bowl and blew away their previous records. The Bulls had won four games in the past three seasons combined but won six this year to make their first bowl since 2018. If first-year head coach Alex Golesh can get his defense on the same page as the offense, Buffalo will be a scary team in the future.
The Bulls defense was one of the worst in the country. They allowed 34.9 points per game and 455.3 yards. Their offense was one of the best, ranking 15th in the country with 456.8 yards per game and 48th with 30.8 points per game. Byrum Brown threw for 3078 yards with 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He was also their second-leading rusher, with 745 yards and 11 touchdowns. Nay'quan Wright was their leading rusher, totaling 775 yards and seven touchdowns. Sean Atkins was far and away Brown's favorite target, boasting 961 yards and five touchdowns. His only game under 50 receiving yards this season was against Alabama in early September.
South Florida's downfall on defense was their secondary, as they allowed 301.2 passing yards per game. They were one of the worst units in the nation amongst every passing category. Their rush defense was closer to average, ranking 71st and 83rd in the country in rushing yards allowed and yards per rush. With the absence of both Syracuse quarterbacks for Thursday's game, the Orange will likely roll out the unorthodox wildcat offense they used for parts of the season. The Bulls' defense will have an easier time handling the backfield attack of tight end Dan Villari and running back LeQuint Allen.
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