ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg has released his picks for all 47 college football bowl games, including the Gators’ upcoming Las Vegas Bowl matchup against the Oregon State Beavers.
Oregon State had a very successful season, finishing with a 9-3 record for their best mark since 2012 while also becoming bowl-eligible for only the fourth time since 2009. Their three losses came in Pac-12 play at the hands of USC, Utah and Washington — three of the top teams in their conference.
They finished the regular season with a 38-24 upset win over their rival, the Oregon Ducks. They played spoiler in that rivalry game, as the Ducks needed a win to make the Pac-12 championship game. Oregon State now has a chance to win ten games for the first time since 2006.
Here is what Rittenberg had to say about the Gators’ neutral-site matchup against the Beavers:
Oregon State comes in hot after winning six of its final seven games, including an upset of rival Oregon, while Florida lost its rivalry game to Florida State and four of its final six contests. The Beavers improved markedly on defense this season but must contend with Florida running backs [autotag]Montrell Johnson Jr[/autotag]. and [autotag]Trevor Etienne[/autotag], who combined for 1,532 rush yards and 16 touchdowns. Oregon State counters with its own dynamic young running back in Damien Martinez, who scores a late touchdown for the win.
Prediction: Oregon State 27, Florida 24
That prediction is actually generous to Florida. The Gators will field a depleted roster, with multiple players having left the program via the transfer portal. Some of the Gators’ top producers from this year, such as [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] and [autotag]O’Cyrus Torrence[/autotag], have also left the program after declaring for the NFL draft. With the bowl game less than two weeks away, reinforcements will not be on the team in time for the matchup.
The Las Vegas Bowl will be played at Allegiant Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 17. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. EST with the game broadcast on ESPN.
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