It’s been four years since Florida last played at Doak S. Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, but the Gators return to the state’s capital on Friday to take on their biggest in-state rival, the Florida State Seminoles.
Florida’s won the last three contests played between these two teams, but UF enters Friday as significant underdogs. FSU has put together an impressive season and is currently ranked No. 16 in the country, according to the College Football Playoff Committee. The folks at CBS Sports took a stab at predicting which team would come out victorious, and they see Florida State not only winning but covering the spread against Florida as well.
“The Seminoles have topped the 38-point mark in each of their last four games, which included a 38-3 win over Syracuse two games ago. That’s going to force Gators quarterback [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] to become more of a threat with his arm, and that’s not his strong point. Yes, he threw for 400 yards in last weekend’s loss to Vanderbilt, but he had to do that in order for his team to have a chance after a slow start. I’ll take the Seminoles to win and cover, especially since a 10-point win cashes.”
Billy Napier doesn’t care about covering the spread, though. He’s in it to win it, and a victory would mean avoiding a .500 record in his first year as Florida’s head coach. The season has certainly seen its share of ups and downs, with perhaps the lowest moment coming a week ago in Nashville, but beating FSU would be a nice way to finish things off.
Florida is dealing with its fair share of injuries this week, though, which will make it even harder on Richardson. He has two freshmen starting out wide and might not have his primary slot receiver this week, either. Florida may have to lean on the run game despite what the experts at CBS Sports think.
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