Florida football gets set to take on the Georgia Bulldogs in the latest edition of their historic rivalry on the shores of the St. John’s River Saturday, Oct. 29, at TIAA Bank Field.
BetMGM’s 22.5-point spread seems jarring at first glance, but the large gambling spread makes sense when you consider the different spots these programs are in. Georgia is coming off a national championship with a defense that saw eight defensive players defeated, five of which went in the 1st round.
Florida fired [autotag]Dan Mullen[/autotag] soon after losing last year’s Georgia game and hired [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] to rebuild its program. While Napier has had success off the field (recruiting, opening new facilities, etc), the result on the field has been inconsistent.
Stewart Mandel of The Athletic has released his picks against the spread, with Mandel showing confidence in his pick. Here is what he said:
Florida QB [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] had a miserable first career start against the Dawgs last season. He’s going to need to ball out for the Gators to have any chance in this one. Florida’s defense is just horrendous (105th nationally), and Georgia’s offense is particularly problematic thanks to matchup nightmares like TE Brock Bowers.
Georgia 44, Florida 20
Mandel is spot on, in my opinion. Anthony Richardson’s performance in last year’s game did not inspire much confidence. While he has drastically improved since then, Florida’s defense does not have enough depth to cover Georgia’s weapons. Combined with the fact that the Georgia defense is still one of the best in the country and the outlook seems grim for the Gators.
Despite the recent talks of the game potentially leaving Jacksonville in the future, the game will be played in Duval County at least until next season. Saturday’s game will kick off at 3:30 p.m. EDT. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports.
[mm-video type=video id=01ggd5mw96pdkyp007e4 playlist_id=01eqbz250mdknqvm5z player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01ggd5mw96pdkyp007e4/01ggd5mw96pdkyp007e4-b4bc1c70e2583ff91e6dc5cbae27c5dd.jpg]
[lawrence-related id=94669,94651,94652,94645,94635]
[listicle id=94620]
[listicle id=94607]
[listicle id=94558]
[listicle id=58788]
[vertical-gallery id=58915]
Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
Let us know your thoughts and comment on this story below. Join the conversation today!