No. 15 Florida Gators (-19.5) at Kentucky Wildcats, Total 42.5 |
Florida hits the road for the first time this season, traveling to Lexington, Ky., to face the Kentucky Wildcats. The Gators are fresh off a solid 33-23 win last week over the Tennessee Volunteers as 9.5-point home favorites.
“I told the guys this morning, it’s a season of one-game series,” commented Gators first-year head coach Will Muschamp. It’s going to be a long week of practice due to committing 16 penalties for 150 yards against Tennessee.
The team leads this series, 44-17, including a 17-10 mark in games played in Kentucky. It’s also important to note that the program has won 24 straight in the series. Florida has also covered four consecutive meetings, including a 41-7 win as 20.5-point road favorites in 2009.
Defense has been the name of the game under Muschamp thus far, outscoring three opponents by a significant 113-26 margin. Florida’s defense held Tennessee to minus-nine yards rushing.
The Gators offense has scored points in 11 of 12 quarters this season, including a touchdown in nine of 12. Florida is one of three SEC teams to score on their opening drive in every game this season.
Explosive plays are the norm due to the athleticism found up and down the roster, collecting 33 such plays this year of 20 or more yards. Multi-purpose player Chris Rainey has been a star, gaining 563 all-purpose yards this season.
Quarterback John Brantley knows that the team can’t be too overconfident in knowing its one the last three matchups in this series by a combined 152-26 score. “You have to put that in the past,” Brantley stated in Gainesville this week. “That’s a cool thing, but we just got to worry about this year.”
Bettors will find that the Gators are 7-1 ATS as a favorite of 10.5 to 21 points and 17-12 ATS overall the last two-plus seasons in college football betting.
Kentucky will need to regroup after losing the Governor’s Cup for the first time since 2006, dropping a 24-17 decision at home to Louisville. The Wildcats are led offensively by quarterback Morgan Newton, who has completed 55.8 percent of his passes this season for 466 yards and four touchdowns.
Newton’s main target is junior wide receiver La’Rod King, who has scored a touchdown in all three games this season. He will need to have a huge game in order to pick up the program’s first win in this series since 1986.
The Wildcats are playing their 39th season inside Commonwealth Stadium, coming in with a 131-109-4 record.
Over the years, Kentucky has played 222 games against opponents ranked in the AP Top 25, posting a 39-178-5 record in such contests. The team did manage to beat No. 10 South Carolina last year, 31-28, when playing in Saturday’s venue.
Bettors will find that the Wildcats are 5-10 ATS as an underdog and 13-15 ATS overall over the last two-plus campaigns.
Playing the Gators seems to be the overwhelming choice, especially due to their 6-2 ATS mark as a road favorite of this type, while the Wildcats are 2-6 ATS following a loss.
