USF +3.5 (-110) over Syracuse
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- USF is playing in their home state here and they should have the advantage in this environment.
- Syracuse is also dealing with a coaching change and an impending quarterback transfer situation, which should mean a preoccupied Orange team.
The Boca Raton Bowl is relatively new by college bowl game standards. But it is a game played in warm weather that always has the potential to favor the offenses thanks to conditions that tend to be friendly to offensive football. Here, we look at this year’s Boca Raton Bowl, along with the history of this bowl game that has been around since the mid-2010s.
2023 Boca Raton Bowl Analysis
In this year’s Boca Raton Bowl, it is hard to get a feel for where Syracuse is from a mentality standpoint. The Orange got rid of head coach Dino Babers ahead of this game, while they will not have their new head coach on the sideline until next season. Meanwhile, the transfer of Kyle McCord from Ohio State to Syracuse is something that could benefit the Orange in the future, but not in this game.
Meanwhile, USF is playing in front of what should be a pretty friendly crowd given that this game is being played in Florida. The Bulls were a mediocre 6-6 this year, but so was their opponent, and USF is probably happier to be here given the low expectations for that program going into the 2023 college football season.
Boca Raton Bowl History
The Boca Raton Bowl has been a part of the college football bowl schedule since the 2014 college football season. It has featured Florida Atlantic, whose home stadium is used for this game, on multiple occasions along with some ranked teams in the past. There are several teams with tie-ins for this bowl game, including the MAC, Conference USA, and the AAC. Below is a list of all of the participants who have taken part in the Boca Raton Bowl previously.
| Year | Winner | Runners-Up |
| 2014 | Marshall | Northern Illinois |
| 2015 | Toledo | Temple |
| 2016 | Western Kentucky | Memphis |
| 2017 | Florida Atlantic | Akron |
| 2018 | UAB | Northern Illinois |
| 2019 | Florida Atlantic | SMU |
| 2020 | BYU | UCF |
| 2021 | Western Kentucky | App State |
| 2022 | Toledo | Liberty |
Bowl Game MVPs
The list of Boca Raton Bowl MVPs is an impressive list, with several players moving onto the NFL after winning the honors for their performance in this contest. Included in that list is quarterback Zach Wilson, who was drafted in the top-five by the New York Jets, and a productive professional linebacker in Azeez Al-Shaair. Below is the full list of MVPs from the history of the Boca Raton Bowl to this point.
| Year | Offensive MVP | Defensive MVP | Special Teams MVP | Team |
| 2014 | Rakeem Cato | N/A | N/A | Marshall |
| 2015 | Phillip Ely | Ju’Wan Woodley | N/A | Toledo |
| 2016 | Anthony Wales | Keith Brown | N/A | Western Kentucky |
| 2017 | Jason Driskel | Azeez Al-Shaair | N/A | Florida Atlantic |
| 2018 | Xavier Ubosi | Anthony Rush | N/A | UAB |
| 2019 | Chris Robison | Rashad Smith | Matt Hayball | Florida Atlantic |
| 2020 | Zach Wilson | Keenan Pili | Caleb Christensen | BYU |
| 2021 | Bailey Zappe | Antwon Kincade | John Haggerty III | Western Kentucky |
| 2022 | Dequan Finn | Nate Givhan | Thomas Cluckey | Toledo |
