Gators vs Bulldogs NCAA Football Spread/Handicapping
Everbank Field in Jacksonville, Fla. plays host to the annual battle between the Florida Gators and the Georgia Bulldogs, and this season it will be the site of one of the best contests in all of week nine. The No. 2 Gators and the No. 10 Bulldogs square off this Saturday, and with a win, Florida can clinch the SEC East.
No. 2 Florida Gators (7-0) vs No. 10 Georgia Bulldogs (6-1)
Saturday October 27, 2012
Everbank Field, JACKSONVILLE, FL
7:00 PM ET
Moneyline: Florida – 250, Georgia +210 from GTBets.eu
Spread: Florida -6.5
O/U: 49
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Georgia won’t make it easy on them, but they fell flat against their only top-ranked opponent this so far, begging the question, can they handle the Gators this season?
Florida Gators
Any time you have two top-10 teams facing off, BCS implications are huge; but at this point in the year, with the Florida Gators holding the No. 2 spot, a win means everything for their championship aspirations.
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The team from Gainesville is coming off an impressive—if not surprising—routing of the then-ranked No. 7 South Carolina Gamecocks. SC was without starting tailback Marcus Lattimore for most of the game, but a 44-11 victory for Florida was an all-around solid effort.
This team may be averaging 18 more points per game than their opponents, but the truth is that they know how to win hard-fought contests. Having come from behind against Tennessee and Texas A&M, and then grinding out a victory against the LSU Tigers, shows that they can win in all different capacitates.
Defensively, this team is about as sound as it gets. They’re allowing just 12.1 points per game (4th in the nation), and they give up just 282 total yards per contest (7th in the nation). Offensively, this team struggles in the passing game, but with a solid running attack and a defense to fall back on, Florida enters what could be another tough battle once again as the favorites. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Georgia Bulldogs
The Georgia Bulldogs have played a relatively easy schedule considering they are in the SEC. Their first ranked opponent didn’t come until Oct. 6 against the sixth-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks, but that also happened to be their worst showing of the year. A 35-7 loss seemingly took them out of national title contention, but a solid 6-1 overall record has kept them as a top-10 team at this point in the year.
Georgia has been better defending the pass than the run this season, but they must slow down Florida’s ground game if they stand a chance at taking down the favorites. The Gators are averaging 212.7 yards in the rushing game this season, and their passing game has been downright awful—although Jeff Driskel did throw for three touchdowns against South Carolina last weekend. Forcing the Gators to throw the ball is going to be key this weekend, but not allowing their quarterback to go off is what’s really important.
Georgia is dangerous, as they account for the 17th-most points scored in the nation, but the Gators have been the more consistent team this year, hands down. A win on Saturday gives the Bulldogs hope at an SEC championship appearance, and the team is going to need big plays from running back Todd Gurley in order to keep Florida’s defense guessing.
The Bulldogs will keep this one close, but expect Florida’s defense to remain tougher. Big plays could sway this game one way or the other, and right now, Florida’s defense is a safer bet than Georgia’s offense.
Trends
- Bulldogs are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games after accumulating more than 280 yards passing in their previous game.
- Under is 10-1 in Gators last 11 games after scoring more than 40 points in their previous game.
- Under is 5-1 in Bulldogs last 6 games in October.
O/U Pick: Under 49
Score Prediction: Florida 21 – Georgia 17
