Old Dominion and South Florida, the two teams that will square off in the Cure Bowl, have been two of the best programs out of the Group of Five this season.
USF is No. 5 in the HERO Sports G5 Top 25 poll and was No. 1 for much of the season. The Bulls (9-3) were ranked among the best teams in the FBS after beating Boise State and Florida in the first two weeks of the regular season. Although USF lost at Miami in mid-September, the Bulls won their next four games – including one victory at North Texas which would go on to appear in the American Conference Championship. USF did lose to Memphis by three points, though. And after a bounceback win over UTSA, USF lost again by three points at Navy.
Winning its last two games couldn’t help USF get back on top of the American Conference standings. And now head coach Alex Golesh has moved on to Auburn.
New Customer Offers at BetMGM
Bonus Bets Expire in 7 Days. One New Customer Offer Only. Add’l Terms
ODU (9-3) was also successful this year, finishing at No. 7 in the G5 Top 25. The Monarchs started with a 13-point loss at Indiana, which is the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff.
Then the Monarchs pulled off four straight wins, including a decisive 45-26 victory over Virginia Tech.
They did fall in back-to-back contests against Marshall and eventual Sun Belt champion James Madison. But that didn’t stop ODU from winning its last five games and earning bowl-eligibility.
Now Ricky Rahne, after recently signing a contract extension, is seeking to win his first bowl game as the head coach at ODU.
Old Dominion vs. USF Betting Odds
USF is a -2.5 college football betting odds favorite against Old Dominion, with the Over/Under being 52.5 as of this writing. The moneyline for Old Dominion is +115, while it’s -140 for USF.
Old Dominion vs. USF On TV
The matchup between Old Dominion and USF will be televised on ESPN.
The game will kick off at 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Dec. 17. The contest is taking place at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida.
Old Dominion vs. USF Prediction
I predict Old Dominion will win and therefore cover the 2.5-point spread. I also project the game will go Under 52.5 total points.
When this matchup was first announced, the possibility seemed exciting that two of the best quarterbacks in the G5 would face each other. USF QB Byrum Brown and Old Dominion QB Colton Joseph were both Group of Five All-Americans this season.
But neither will be playing today.
The two schools confirmed that their backups will be behind center. ODU redshirt freshman Quinn Henicle and USF sixth-year senior Gaston Moore will be starting.
But while USF head coach Alex Golesh is gone, ODU head coach Ricky Rahne is still with the Monarchs, and I think that counts for something.
USF was second in the country in total offense this year, averaging 501.7 yards per game. But the Monarchs weren’t far behind, as they were 15th with 460.8 YPG. USF was second in the country in scoring offense (43 points per game) while ODU was 29th (32.7 PPG).
But the difference in this game, for me, is ODU’s defense. The Monarchs were 21st in the country with 19.25 points per game allowed and 32nd in total defense with 331.4 YPG allowed. The Bulls were 56th with 23.33 PPG allowed and 81st with 386.8 YPG allowed.
I think ODU will make things difficult for USF’s offense and will provide the Monarchs’ offense more opportunities to score.
