Week 3 of college football is nearly underway and the Florida Gators are preparing for their matchup with the South Florida Bulls in a battle of two Sunshine State universities. While both teams enter the game with both a win and a loss on their records, this one looks to be the kind of mismatch that the Gators have grown accustomed to when it comes to the lower-tier schools.
Florida emerged victoriously from its two prior meetings with USF, notching a 38-14 home win back in 2011 while also earning a 42-20 road victory last year. The Orange and Blue are once again favored by the oddsmakers to score a big win this Saturday in the Swamp by a 24.5-point spread as [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag]’s squad looks to keep the streak going in his debut season.
CBS Sports recently published a pair of takes on Florida’s third opponent of the season. Barrett Sallee kicked it off with his SEC college football picks and here is a look below at what he had to say.
It’s hard to trust Gators quarterback [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] if he’s not a threat on the ground. Granted, he will be healthier this weekend against the Bulls, but he is last in the SEC in passer rating among qualifying quarterbacks (90.04) for a reason. A couple of mistakes through the air will keep the Bulls within a spread that is about four points too big.
Jerry Palm also offered his take in a separate college football picks and predictions post in which he fundamentally agreed with his colleague. Here is what he offered in his article.
The Gators are licking their wounds following a home loss to Kentucky last week. This week, they get a team they can take out some frustrations on. South Florida gave up 50 to BYU in its only game against FBS competition so far. Florida’s offense should also have a field day and do enough to cover this spread.
The consensus is clearly in favor of the Gators and there is little reason to doubt the current odds from the bookmakers, which appear to also be in near unanimous agreement. If something does go wrong in this game and the Bulls end up trampling the Gators, it will be another long season in Gainesville this fall.
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