Florida vs. South Carolina Spread Pick
Following back-to-back conference losses the Florida Gators will attempt to regroup on Saturday when they host the South Carolina Gamecocks at 12:00 p.m. ET. Laying over a touchdown at home, will the Gators cover or are the Gamecocks the better bet?
Game Snapshot
193 South Carolina Gamecocks at 194 Florida Gators
12:00 p.m. ET, Saturday, November 10
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida
Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetNow.eu, the Gators are 6.5-point favorites to beat the Gamecocks. The total, meanwhile, sits at 54 points. As of this writing, 54% of the public betting tickets wagered on this matchup are on the Gamecocks.
South Carolina Gamecocks
South Carolina junior QB Jake Bentley completed 22-of-32 passes for 363 yards with two touchdowns in a 48-44 victory over Ole Miss on Saturday. Who needs defense, anyway? This was an offensive explosion on Saturday, with the Gamecocks hanging on for a big victory for their chances to qualify for a bowl. Bentley also added a rushing touchdown, and he didn’t throw an interception for the first time since the season-opening win against Coastal Carolina. If Bentley plays like this going forward, the Gamecocks can give a lot of teams trouble. He’ll face a much, much tougher defense next Saturday when they take on Georgia.
Florida Gators
Florida HC Dan Mullen said Monday that he will only use freshman QB Emory Jones in special situations in two of Florida’s final four games. Mullen’s plan all along has been to preserve Jones’ (6’3/179) redshirt, but with the recent struggles of starter Feleipe Franks some have been clamoring for change. The freshman quarterback has appeared in two games this season, the season opener against Charleston Southern and the Oct. 27 matchup with rival Georgia, and he has yet to attempt a pass. Florida closes its regular season with games against South Carolina, Idaho and Florida State, and they’ll have a bowl game to play as well.
Betting Trends
South Carolina
The Gamecocks are 6-1-1 against the spread in their last eight road games but are 1-5 against the number in their last six games following a win.
Florida
The Gators are 5-2 against the spread in their last seven games overall but just 3-9-1 at the betting window in their last 13 games following a straight up loss.
Prediction
The Gators showed us yesterday where their motivation level is following their loss to Georgia. They couldn’t get pumped up for homecoming against an average SEC opponent like Missouri? South Carolina needs one more victory to become bowl eligible and the Gamecocks have been competitive all season. Throw in Will Muschamp facing the school that fired him and I like the points in this spot.
College Football Prediction: South Carolina Gamecocks +6.5