The holidays are a magical time of year when we reflect on kindness, generosity, and, most importantly, bowl season. The 2023 rendition kicked off this past weekend with a six-game slate, setting in motion what should be another exciting few weeks in college football. The action continues this week, and we look at three games, starting with Tuesday night’s Frisco Bowl.
We’re breaking down each game, including moneyline, point spread, and total odds!
UTSA Roadrunners (-11.5) vs. Marshall Thundering Herd
Moneyline Odds: -450/+340
Total: 51.5
Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl presents one of this bowl season’s most lopsided betting lines. The 8-4 UTSA Roadrunners battle it out with the 6-6 Marshall Thundering Herd as meaty -11.5 favorites. Linemakers can’t do anything to attract money on the Thundering Herd as the spread continues to shift toward UTSA.
That movement is well deserved. The Roadrunners ended the year on a torrid pace, going 5-1-1 against the spread over their previous seven outings. UTSA rolled out a balanced offensive attack, averaging 174.8 rushing yards and 249.8 passing yards per game. Expect them to turn to their ground game more frequently, exposing Marshall’s most glaring weakness in the process.
Marshall’s just happy to be here at this point, and covering the spread is the only moral victory they could hope for.
South Florida Bulls vs. Syracuse Orange (-2.5)
Moneyline Odds:+102/-122
Total: 56.5
A four-game win streak to open the season has long since been forgotten by the Syracuse Orange. The ACC program stumbled over themselves to get to the end of the season, losing six of their past eight games. Syracuse could be ripe for an upset against a South Florida Bulls squad that went 5-1 against the spread as underdogs this year.
Improved defense had nothing to do with South Florida’s success as underdogs. On average, the Bulls give up 455.7 yards per game, ranking 131st in the country. Still, Syracuse doesn’t have the offensive wherewithal to take advantage of those deficiencies, putting them on upset alert in the RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets vs. UCF Knights (-4.5)
Moneyline Odds: +158/-192
Total: 67.5
Defense will be in short supply when the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets take on the UCF Knights in the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl. Georgia Tech abandoned any semblance of defense this year, allowing the 12th-most yards per game against FBS foes. Opponents overwhelmed the Yellow Jackets for an average of 450.3 yards per game. Still, they met the minimum standard for bowl eligibility by averaging nearly 30.0 points per game.
The Knights have a similar profile, albeit improved in both aspects. UCF’s defense allows a slightly more palatable 407.7 yards for 31.1 points per game on offense.
Take note of these trends. Georgia Tech has gone north of the total in five of its past six. Conversely, the Knights have stayed under the total in four straight and all but one of their past six. One of those trends is coming to an end as these teams work toward the highest total on the board.
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