The Orange can enjoy some warm weather before the holidays.
The Syracuse Orange have found out where and when they’ll be playing their 13th game of 2023 – and it’ll be against an old foe.
SU and USF are set to battle at the home of FAU in the Acronym Boca Raton Bowl on Thursday, December 21. Kickoff is scheduled for 8pm and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.
We’re movin’ in lock, stock and barrel.
‘Cuse is headed to the @BocaBowl pic.twitter.com/XCWwcn3gJP
— Syracuse Football (@CuseFootball) December 3, 2023
Action Network’s Brett McMurphy was the first to report the news.
It will be the first time Syracuse has played in this bowl, but their 11th matchup against South Florida. USF was briefly part of the Big East and faced ‘Cuse every year from 2005-2012, followed by a home-and-home in 2015 and 2016. Overall, SU’s record in the series is 2-8.
This year, the Bulls are 6-6 (4-4 in AAC) and also needed a Week 13 victory to earn a Bowl appearance and snap a five-year postseason drought. They’re simultaneously one of the best offensive teams in the American Athletic Conference while also allowing over 450 total yards and 300 passing yards per game, so don’t expect points to be at a premium here.
Syracuse should be in a bit better shape before gameday as QB Garrett Shrader looked much better against Wake Forest than he had in the previous month. Hopefully his arm will recover some more and the Orange passing game can be a positive factor.
SU is 4-5 all-time in Bowl Games in the state of Florida, with their most recent game (and win) coming in the 2018 Camping World Bowl against West Virginia. They’ll enter this game in a transition period between interim head coach Nunzio Campanile and his full-time successor, Fran Brown. We should find out more about how the duo plan to lead the team in Brown’s introductory press conference tomorrow.
What are your thoughts on this bowl matchup? Do any of you plan on making the trip to Palm County?