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SEC Football Predictions Week 1: Picking Games Against the Spread

By Nicholas Ian Allen

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Nov 22, 2014; Gainesville, FL, USA;Florida Gators running back Kelvin Taylor (21) runs past Eastern Kentucky Colonels linebacker Max Nussbaum (97) for a touchdown during the first quarter at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

  • Date: Saturday September 5, 2014
  • Time: 7:30PM Eastern
  • Location: Gainesville, FL
  • TV Channel: SEC Network
  • Spread: Florida -37
  • Over/Under Total: 58

A new era of Florida football is set to begin Saturday night in The Swamp as the Gators play host to the New Mexico State Aggies. It’s important that Florida get the season – and the Jim McElwain era – started off on the right foot.

Florida Gators
Florida Gators /

Florida Gators

In a somewhat surprising move, McElwain has named Treon Harris the starter for Saturday’s game against New Mexico State. Harris did start six games last season, and led the Gators to four wins in their final six games including a 38-20 upset over Georgia, but many fans and analysts expected McElwain to choose redshirt freshman Will Grier as his top QB. The head coach did say that Grier is likely to play in the game – which was to be expected anyway since the Gators should blow out the Aggies at home.

New Mexico State returns ten starters on defense, which is good on one hand but bad on the other: the Aggies allowed 39.1 points and 484 total yards per game last season. Even after NMSU made life difficult early for LSU quarterback Anthony Jennings last year, the Tigers exploded for 63 points. Similarly, eight starters return for the Aggies on offense, but the unit scored just 24.5 points per game and quarterback Tyler Rogers led the nation by tossing 23 interceptions.

It will be interesting to see how the Gators respond to McElwain (the former Colorado State head coach and Alabama offensive coordinator) offensively. If the coaching staff puts Harris in a good position early, and if the young Gators offensive line protects him, they should get an easy victory – and a cover.

Next: Wisconsin vs. Alabama

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