Gator Bowl Betting 2023 Prediction, Odds, Preview

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated the South Carolina Gamecocks 45-38 in the 2022 Gator Bowl.

Check out last year's coverage here below and tune back in with us soon for the 2023 Gator Bowl Odds, Picks and Predictions.

Marcus Freeman would love to close out his first season at Notre Dame with a bowl game victory. The Fighting Irish have historically struggled at the Gator Bowl and in Jacksonville, so it would be especially sweet to beat the South Carolina Gamecocks on the First Coast.

However, their most talented player on both offense (Michael Mayer) and defense (Isaiah Foskey) opted out and declared early for the NFL Draft.

That gives South Carolina a good opportunity to pull off the upset. The TaxSlayer Gator Bowl will take place on Friday, December 30, 2022, at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN from TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Florida.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. South Carolina Gamecocks Betting Prediction

This is an important game for Notre Dame quarterback Tyler Buchner. He missed nearly the entire year due to injury after beating Drew Pyne out for the starting job, and it sounds like Buchner will be battling with Wake Forest transfer Sam Hartman to be QB1 in 2023.

A strong showing in a bowl game against a quality opponent like South Carolina has the potential to go a long way with the coaching staff, so he will be at his best in leading the Irish to a win.

Score Prediction: Notre Dame 31, South Carolina 20
Best Bet: Notre Dame -3.5 (-110)

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Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. South Carolina Gamecocks Betting Odds

Gator Bowl Betting Resources

• Date: Friday, December 30, 2022
• TV-Time: ESPN, 3:30 p.m. ET
• Venue: TIAA Bank Field
• Location: Jacksonville, Florida
• Expert Picks

Notre Dame Fighting Irish Betting Analysis

Tyler Buchner suffered what was thought to be a season-ending shoulder injury in Notre Dame’s Week 2 loss against Marshall.

However, Buchner was cleared to play in the Gator Bowl earlier this month after Drew Pyne announced that he was transferring to Arizona State.

It will be interesting to see how much Notre Dame decides to have him run in this game given he is coming off a shoulder injury, but he is at his best when he has the opportunity to run or throw.

The situation at tight end is dire. Michael Mayer was by far the best tight end in the country and hauled in 67 passes for 809 yards and nine touchdowns.

To no one’s surprise, Mayer opted to skip the bowl game since he is a lock to be a first round pick in the NFL Draft, but Holden Staes (one receptions for 11 yards) is the only tight end on the team with experience.

Cane Berrong entered the transfer portal, and Kevin Bauman and Eli Raridon are injured, stretching the depth at this position group.

Notre Dame is likely to have a run-heavy game plan since the top receiver is Lorenzo Styles with 30 receptions for 340 yards and a TD with Mayer out.

No one else has more than 20 receptions on the roster. This team has three solid running backs in Audric Estime, Logan Diggs, and Chris Tyree though.

Estime averaged 5.8 YPC and ran for 11 touchdowns, while Tyree is a receiving threat out of the backfield too.

The Fighting Irish are ranked 36th in Defensive SP+. They were great at getting to the quarterback this year, but their ability to do that will be severely limited without Isaiah Foskey.

He was responsible for 11 of Notre Dame’s 35 sacks, and no other player had more than three sacks.

Starting cornerback Cam Hart will miss this game due to injury, but Benjamin Morrison is set to start and led the Irish with five interceptions.

South Carolina Gamecocks Betting Analysis

Spencer Rattler will take part in the Gator Bowl, and there’s a decent chance that this is his last collegiate game. Rattler had an up-and-down season in Columbia to match his up-and-down time at Oklahoma, but there’s no doubt that he has the pure talent to play on Sunday if he can find more consistency.

Rattler absolutely torched No. 5 Tennessee’s defense in a 63-38 blowout victory, completing 30 of 37 passes for 438 yards and six touchdowns without a turnover. However, in his other 11 starts, he threw 10 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

There will be a lot of new faces in this offense though, especially at the skill positions. Top running back MarShawn Lloyd entered the transfer portal, and No. 3 running back Christian Beal-Smith is injured and considered doubtful to play.

Star tight end Jaheim Bell also entered the transfer portal, and No. 2 tight end Austin Stogner announced that he was returning to Oklahoma earlier this month.

No. 3 wide receiver Josh Vann didn’t make the trip to Jacksonville with the team, and No. 2 wide receiver Jalen Brooks is considered doubtful due to an unspecified issue.

That is sure to cause a lot of consternation at times, even with three weeks of practice to try and prepare for this game.

South Carolina had the best special teams in the country per SP+. This defense was above average by the same metric, but the Gamecocks will be missing three of their starters in the secondary.

Cam Smith, Darius Rush, and Devonni Reed have all opted out to enter the NFL Draft, so that will put a lot of pressure on safeties D.Q. Smith and Nick Emmanwori.

The Gamecocks’ front seven allowed 5.0 YPC and 197.2 YPG on the ground, so the Irish could have a lot of success with the ground game.

Gator Bowl History

The Gator TaxSlayer Bowl debuted in 1946 and the matchup currently features schools from the Southerastern Conference (SEC) and the Big Ten Conference. The game takes place at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida as the previous venue for this contest was the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville from 1946-1993. This game was named the Mazda Gator Bowl, Outback Gator Bowl, Toyota Gator Bowl, Konica Minolta Gator Bowl, and Progressive Gator Bowl prior to TaxSlayer acquiring sponsorship rights in 2012. 

The SEC has won three straight Gator Bowls and five of the last six, which includes a 23-22 comeback victory by Tennessee over Indiana in the 2019 installment. The 'under' connected in that outcome and the low side is on a 9-2 run in the last 11 Gator Bowls.

Virginia Tech has made the most appearances in this game since 1994 with five visits to Jacksonville.

The 2020 installment was a nip and tuck affair, with Kentucky of the SEC easing by NC State by a 23-21 score, as the Wolfpack grabbed the cover. In the 2021 version, Wake Forest was expected to face Texas A&M. However, the Aggies were forced to pull out due to COVID issues, so Rutgers of the Big Ten was named as a replacement. It wasn't a very good game, as the ACC runner-up routed the Scarlet Knights 38-10. The 'under' has cashed in the past three Gator Bowls, and six of the past seven installments.