Put together two teams that greatly resemble the current status of college football as a whole, and you get the 2025 Cure Bowl between South Florida and Old Dominion. Head coaches are moving out and moving on. Players are not opting for the usual pro football prospect work, but because they intend to enter the portal and play somewhere else next season. But this is what the game is now, and so this is what many of the bowls are.
The Cure Bowl Details You Need to Know
The Bowl Game Background
The Cure Bowl has been one of the December bowl games since 2015. It is played at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. It derives its name from the promotion of breast cancer awareness, with proceeds from the game going to the Breast Cancer Awareness Foundation. This will be the second year that StaffDNA, a healthcare employment website, is the title sponsor.
The game has had conference tie-ins over the years with the American, Conference USA, the MAC, and the Sun Belt. Neither of this year’s teams has ever appeared in the Cure Bowl.
The payout for each team is approximately $600,000.
The Match-up
South Florida finished fourth in the American Conference with a 6-2 record, and the Bulls were 9-3 overall.
Old Dominion finished second in the East Division of the Sun Belt Conference behind eventual SBC champion James Madison. The Monarchs were 6-2 in conference play and 9-3 overall and are bringing a five-game winning streak into the game.
The Particulars
USF
USF goes into the game without its head coach and its starting quarterback. Alex Golesh is leaving to take over the Auburn Tigers next season. Defensive line coach Kevin Patrick will coach the Bulls for the game.
Quarterback Byrum Brown, who passed for 3,158 yards and rushed for another 1,000, is also opting out of the game with a future yet to be decided. He could follow Golesh to Auburn or could put his name in the NFL draft. Either way, he won’t be back at USF, and does not want to risk injury for the game. He will be with the team as a de facto assistant coach. His main task will be to work with the game’s starting quarterback Gaston Moore, who ironically enough is playing in his final collegiate game. Moore appeared in seven games this season, but usually when the outcome was already decided. He was 14 for 290 passing for 54 yards and a touchdown.
Old Dominion
The Monarchs also had a dual-threat quarterback who won’t be there for the game. Colton Joseph was the SBC Offensive Player of the Year. He threw for 2,624 yards and ran for another 1,007. That included 21 passing touchdowns and 13 touchdowns on the ground. But he announced last week that he will enter the transfer portal.
Like USF, ODU will hand the reins on offense over to reserve quarterback who is light on the stats. Sophomore Quinn Henicle appeared in eight games, going six of 15 passing for 57 yards. He also had 20 carries for 201 rushing yards.
While the Monarchs break in their future quarterback, expect the offense to rely heavily on running back Trequan Jones. He averaged a blistering seven yards per carry with 736 yards on 97 carries.
The Bottom Line
Both teams are looking for the rarified air of a 10-win season. USF has done it twice. Willie Taggert led them to an 11-2 record in 2016 while playing in the AAC. Charlie Strong did it the following year, going 10-2.
Old Dominion has also hit the 10-win mark twice in its history. They did it in 2012 with an 11-2 record as an FCS school. 2016 was their third year as an FBS school in Conference USA, and the Monarchs went 10-3, including a win in the Bahamas Bowl.
How To Watch
Day/Date: Wednesday, December 17th
Time: 5 pm Eastern
Location: Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL
TV: ESPN
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