Alex’s best bet: UCF at Florida prediction

SportsbookWire.com’s Alex White likes a side in Saturday’s NCAA football game between UCF and Florida.

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We’re superstitious here at SportsbookWire, so we’re not going to mention exactly how our Alex White has been faring with her college football picks this season.

For those of you paying attention, you know what we’re talking about … we’ll leave it at that. It’s no fluke that Alex won a major college football contest in Las Vegas 2 seasons ago.

For those of you who are not paying attention, you can find her past picks on her Twitter/X page (@alexwhitee).

This Saturday, it’s “big brother vs. little brother,” as she is focused on an in-state battle in Gainesville, Fla.

The UCF Knights (3-1) visit the Florida Gators (2-2) for a 7:45 p.m. ET kickoff. The game will be on the SEC Network.

UCF is favored by 1.5 points, per BetMGM Sportsbook as of Friday, 7:28 p.m. ET — the Knights were favored by 2.5 points earlier in the week.

Listen below to why this is Alex’s best bet.

Make sure to catch Alex on Sports By the Book Saturday 11 a.m.-noon ET, and Sunday through Wednesday noon-1 p.m. ET, and on Punch Lines every Monday and Wednesday 3 p.m.-4 p.m. ET — live from the South Point Sportsbook in Las Vegas. Follow @alexwhitee on Twitter/X.

For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter/X and like us on Facebook.

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Gasparilla Bowl: UCF vs. Florida odds, picks and prediction

Analyzing Thursday’s UCF Knights vs. Florida Gators odds and lines, with college football expert picks, predictions and best bets.

The UCF Knights (8-4) and Florida Gators (6-6) clash in Thursday night’s Gasparilla Bowl at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the UCF vs. Florida odds and lines, and make our expert college football picks, predictions and bets.

UCF is 5-1 over its last six games. A Knights defense that struggled against the run in the first half of the season has improved in that area. Central Florida has allowed more than 140 yards rushing just once over its last six games. But Gus Malzahn‘s squad has also had an easy schedule over the back half of the season, so Thursday’s game against a high-powered UF offense figures to be a step up in class.

Florida running backs coach and special teams coordinator Greg Knox will coach the Gators, a program in transition and headed into the Billy Napier administration after Napier was named head coach earlier this month. Florida went 2-4 straight up and 0-6 against the spread over its last six regular-season games. The Gators do sport an offense that has averaged 470.2 total yards per contest; that ranks 11th in FBS.

Rankings courtesy of the AFCA Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.

UCF vs. Florida odds, spread and lines

Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 10:30 a.m. ET.

  • Money line: UCF +210 (bet $100 to win $210) | Florida -270 (bet $270 to win $100)
  • Against the spread (ATS): UCF +6.5 (-102) | Florida -6.5 (-122)
  • Over/Under (O/U): 55.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)

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UCF vs. Florida odds, lines, picks and predictions

Get some action on this matchup at Tipico Sportsbook, a trusted, global sports-betting leader and Sportsbook Wire’s official betting partner.

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Prediction

Florida 31, UCF 24

Money line

Take advantage of the narrative that Florida has quit on the season. The Gators had two tough midseason games — losses at LSU and versus No. 1 Georgia — that seemed to sour everything moving forward. But UF was undone by penalties, turnovers, and iffy third-down numbers in setbacks against Missouri and South Carolina.

Florida’s performance in its last game — Nov. 27 vs. Florida State — showed some backbone. The Gator roster is loaded with talented players auditioning for roles in the rollover to the Billy Napier-led 2022 season.

TAKE FLORIDA (-270).

Against the spread

Look for the UF ground game to crank out some big plays, and for a perhaps-better-than-advertised Gator pass defense to help nurse a 6-to-10-point win. A 6-point win comes up as an ATS loss here, but the FLORIDA -6.5 (-110) play is worth an investment.

Over/Under

In UCF’s last 10 games vs. SEC foes, the Under has gone 8-1-1.

Look for the run games to be in charge of this one. BACK THE UNDER 55.5 (-110).

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