It'll be a windy start to the 2019-2020 college football bowl season. The Bahamas Bowl is expected to be one windiest games ever tracked by our Bet Labs software, and today's Boca Raton Bowl is expecting heavy breezes as well.
Interestingly, 60% of bettors are on the SMU vs. Florida Atlantic over, which is surprising considering key suspensions to a handful of Owls players, including WR Deangelo Antoine and TE Harrison Bryant. These suspensions, plus a windy forecast, have driven this total down after opening at 72 back on Dec. 9.
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Here is a detailed look at the Boca Raton Bowl weather forecast and what it means for SMU vs. Florida Atlantic bettors.
Boca Raton Bowl Weather Forecast: SMU vs. Florida Atlantic
As mentioned above, this total opened at 72 and has dropped to 64.5 at the time of writing.
And this drop came in two unique waves. The first drop to 68.5 is likely the result of the windy forecast. And then once the FAU suspensions became public, this total plummeted another four points to the current number.
Sports Insights' weather data is projecting steady 17 mph winds at FAU Stadium throughout the game.
The National Weather Service is also forecasting gusts up to 28 mph, and these windy conditions could certainly affect two offenses that move the ball well through the air — SMU ranks 12th in passing yards per game while FAU checks in at 30th.
Strong breezes certainly affect passing accuracy, so it's no surprise to see similarly windy conditions result in lower-than-expected scoring historically.
According to our Bet Labs data, college football games played in winds of at least 13 mph have gone under the closing total 56.8% of the time since 2005.
With the weather expected to make the passing games more difficult, it's no surprise to see this total moving the way it has.
