Florida football: Florida vs Georgia best bets week 9
By Will Thomas
We’re less than 48 hours away from Florida football taking on the Georgia Bulldogs in Jacksonville.
It’s no secret that UGA is the heavy favorite to win this game. They’re the #1 team in the country, and Florida has looked bad defensively and inconsistent on offense.
Here’s the good news: This is a rivalry game in college football. A lot of weird things happen in these games.
Now I’m not saying that the Gators are going to drive up to JAX and pull out a win. But there’s a chance that this game could be interesting. Let’s get into our best bets for this game.
Florida football: Best bets vs UGA
The spread for this game is the 2nd largest in series history and the biggest spread in UGA’s favor ever against the Gators. At 22.5, 58% of the bets are on UGA to cover, as well as 66% of the money.
I’ve spent the better part of this week trying to find a way to confidently take the Gators to cover this massive difference. And I think I may have figured it out.
If the Gators are going to keep this game close they need to figure out a passing game outside of the weekly deep bomb to Shorter on the first play. This will have to come from quick throws a few yards downfield that allow our receivers to make some plays in space.
If Napier and AR can get guys like Henderson and Pearsall involved in some quick passes, it could open up a few holes in the run game, as well as compress the defense to open up the long shot to Shorter.
I think that Napier knows this, and he also knows that he can gain the favor of every UF fan on the planet with a win. I think he comes ready to coach, and the players come ready to play.
Why not? Give me the Gators +22.5.
I also like the over at 56.5. I say this because in order for the Gators to stay competitive, they need to score a lot. The defense is not going to hold UGA to 17 or 24 points. They just aren’t.
Let’s say UGA gets to 38. That seems like a realistic number, especially if UF is able to maintain decent drives. That leaves 19 points for Florida to get to.
With the explosiveness of AR, it’s almost a guarantee that he breaks 1 or 2 explosive plays to help the Gators score. And my gut is telling me that Napier has a few tricks up his sleeve to generate some offense.
Take the Gators to keep the score respectable at +22.5, and look for some offense with the over 56.5.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change