College Football Picks: South Florida vs Old Dominion Team Best Bets for Cure Bowl
9-3 South Florida makes the short trip from Tampa to Orlando to face 9-3 Old Dominion early Wednesday evening. The Bulls went 9-3 ATS with the over hitting seven times, while the Monarchs went 7-5 ATS, with the over hitting just five times, and not in any of their final five games.
Jump into Championship Week with a DraftKings Promo Code for $200 on a $5 bet if your bet wins! RotoWire has plenty of college football betting tools and info to keep you in the loop this season. From the latest college football odds to college football futures and Heisman odds, we have you covered.
South Florida vs Old Dominion Betting Odds for Cure Bowl
Spread: South Florida -3.5 (-105, BetMGM); Old Dominion +4 (-112, DraftKings Sportsbook)
Total: Over 52.5 (-110, FanDuel Sportsbook); Under 52.5 (-105, BetMGM Sportsbook)
Moneyline: South Florida -157 (Caesars Sportsbook); Old Dominion +160 (DraftKings Sportsbook)
We've seen massive line movement here, and it's obviously tied to player opt-outs and coaches leaving. USF won't have its offensive staff available after Alex Golesh left for Auburn and took them with him, which is a major concern for the Bulls. But both teams are going to be without their starting quarterbacks, so the big swings seem a touch aggressive. USF opened at (-7.5) and (-310) on the moneyline, and you can see where we sit now. The spread fell another half-point Tuesday afternoon before moving back a little in the direction of USF, but, given the odds currently listed, I don't see it moving much more. It's come down enough to support the Bulls on the moneyline if you're risk-averse.
The total too has seen steady downward movement, opening at 56.5, but it's leveled off over the last 24 hours and seems far too low if both teams were at full strength.
Get a piece of the action during bowl season with BetMGM promo code ROTOSPORTS featuring a First Bet offer of up to $1,500!
South Florida vs Old Dominion Betting Picks for Week Cure Bowl
As with all bowl games, it's crucial to track player availability in the hours before kickoff. With the bulk of USF's offensive staff gone, it's fair to wonder if more skill players will choose to sit out.
What we know is that both teams are without their starting quarterback. USF's Byrum Brown isn't playing, but will be on the sidelines as a "coach," while ODU's Colton Joseph has already announced his intentions to transfer. Both signal-callers were their team's leading passer (duh) and their leading rusher. Gaston Moore will start for USF, and while he initially played at Tennessee and can be a big-fish, small-pond kind of guy, he has no history of running successfully. Quinn Henicle takes over for the Monarchs, and he had a 200-yard rushing game against Arkansas State in 2024, so ODU seemingly won't miss a beat in terms of style of play.
On one hand, you'd expect the bigger program in USF to have enough depth to overcome any loss in personnel better than ODU. On the other, ODU's offense is largely successful due to scheme, not talent. As a result, I'm not touching the winner here as I can make a case either way. My play will be on the total, as I think both offenses will work, and backup quarterbacks will make mistakes, leading to short fields and additional possessions. I'm bucking the ODU under trend from late in the season. They've scored at least 24 points in all but two games, and the under hit because their opponents didn't score. USF will.
South Florida vs Old Dominion Cure Bowl Expert Pick: over 52.5 points (FanDuel Sportsbook)
Join in on the fun during bowl season with a FanDuel Sportsbook promo code featuring $250 in Bonus Bets if your $5 bet wins!
South Florida vs Old Dominion Predictions for Cure Bowl
Both teams should be plenty motivated to earn their 10th win of the season, and I'm banking on a back-and-forth shootout to develop. Old Dominion put up 218 yards rushing against Indiana in Week 1. Penn State is the only other opponent to get more than 92 yards on the Hoosiers all season. Their system works, and USF was vulnerable to triple-option Navy and powerhouse Miami.
The key will be USF's ability to also run successfully and take heat off of Moore, who likely isn't good enough to throw 40+ times ad win this game on his own. ODU is allowing a mere 3.8 ypc, but were gashed in their three defeats for 281.0 ypg and 5.3 ypc. Somewhat amazingly, all three of those opponents ran it at least 50 times. I don't expect that much volume from the Bulls, but it shows that the Monarchs can be pushed around by bigger, deeper, higher-level opponents.
This column kind of evolved into more pro-ODU and pro or anti-USF, but in the end, I like the Bulls to get this done with balance on offense and forcing an additional turnover.
South Florida 34 - Old Dominion 27
South Florida vs Old Dominion Player Props for Wednesday, December 17
There's not much/anything out there in terms of yardage totals, and you'll obviously need to confirm the availability of running backs and receivers. We're stuck looking for touchdown props here as a result.
Quinn Henicle, QB, Old Dominion - Over 0.5 touchdowns
Joseph had 13 of the Monarchs' 28 rushing scores on the year, and the remaining 15 were shared by four others, with none getting more than five. It's not a one-for-one trade-off, but Henicle is as close to plug-and-play in this offense as there can be.
Nykahi Davenport, RB, South Florida - Over 0.5 touchdowns
Brown's absence negates 14 of the team's 29 rushing scores, and Davenport was second with seven. Old Dominion allowed only 13 rushing scores all season, and none in their last five, but surrendered six to JMU, three to Marshal,l and two to Indiana, their three losses. Win or lose, Davenport and his 216-pound frame seems to be the best bet for work inside the 10.
