Seminoles vs Bulls NCAA Football Spread/Handicapping
Florida State picked up a huge national television win over Clemson last Saturday night. The Seminoles are up to number four in the polls, and they clearly have a shot at running the table.
Florida State Seminoles vs. South Florida Bulls
Raymond James Stadium
Saturday September 29, 6:00 PM EST on ESPN
College Football Betting Odds from Bovada
Moneyline: Off
College Football Spread: Florida State -17 (-110) vs. USF +17 (-110)
Over/Under: 55
Still, the team has plenty of landmines between now and the end of the regular season.
South Florida beat Florida State 17-7 as 14-point underdog in 2009. Can the Bulls do it again?
Florida State
Last week’s 49-37 win over Clemson was important for multiple reasons. The biggest of them all was probably E.J. Manuel breaking out with a huge game.
Manuel has been a question mark in the past, but he is looking better and better. So far this season, Manuel has completed 73.4% of his passes and he has eight touchdowns and one interception.
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After being considered a question mark, he is now on many people’s Heisman Trophy short list. It helps to have a great backfield like the Seminoles have. James Wilder and Chris Thompson are one of the best tailback tandems in the nation.
Florida State is averaging 56.2 points per game in 2012.
Florida State is loaded on the defensive side of the ball.
The Seminoles have tons of team speed all over the field. This defense is allowing just 184 total yards per game so far this year, which is second in the nation. Opponents are averaging just ten points per game.
One note of caution though, the Seminoles have a lot of names on the injury report this week.
South Florida
South Florida has been a really tough team to figure out over the last couple years. Skip Holtz did some great things at East Carolina, but it has been a struggle for him so far at South Florida. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
B.J. Daniels is a very talented quarterback who always seems destined for a breakout season, but he is far too inconsistent and makes too many mistakes with the football.
Daniels has already thrown for 1,142 yards this year, but he also has six interceptions. Daniels is only eight yards behind Demetrius Murray in rushing yards for South Florida. The Bulls need to get a more consistent rushing game to take pressure off Daniels in the passing game.
The Bulls defense was the strength of the team a couple years ago, but this unit has gone downhill of late.
They rank right about in the middle of all college football teams in total defense this year, and that simply isn’t good enough. Ball State put up 31 points on South Florida’s defense last weekend. There aren’t any real stars on this side of the ball.
The Bulls defense will be tested in a big way this week.
This is a bit of a letdown spot for Florida State, but I don’t feel confident enough in South Florida to recommend playing them.
I think both offenses should move the ball well here.
Free College Football Pick: Over 55
