College Football Odds: SEC Week 9 picks against the spread
Oct 17, 2015; Athens, GA, USA; Missouri Tigers linebacker Kentrell Brothers (10) tackles Georgia Bulldogs running back Sony Michel (1) during the first half at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
- Date: Saturday October 31, 2015
- Time: 3:30 PM Eastern
- Location: Jacksonville, FL
- TV Channel: CBS
- Spread: Florida -3
- Over/Under Total: 45.5
The Florida Gators can essentially wrap up the SEC East with a victory over Georgia in Jacksonville Saturday. Though Vanderbilt would still be mathematically alive for a spot in the SEC Championship Game even if the Gators win, it’s a virtual certainty that Florida would represent the East in Atlanta in December.
Georgia Bulldogs
Of course, if the Bulldogs win, Georgia would tie the Gators atop the division standings, and hold the tiebreaker, putting the Dawgs in the driver’s seat. That means victories against Kentucky and Auburn would send Georgia to the conference title game. Needless to say, this year’s edition of the “World’s Largest Cocktail Party” has major implications for both squads.
Florida struggled to run the football in a 35-28 loss to LSU two weeks ago, and gained just 55 rushing yards on 31 carries against the Tigers. They’ll need to be better against Georgia to pick up a win. Last year, the Gators ran for 418 yards against Georgia and upset the Bulldogs 38-20. The quarterback that day was Treon Harris, who will be making his third start of the 2015 season Saturday against the Bulldogs. Harris played well against LSU, and had 271 passing yards and two touchdowns in the loss.
The Georgia defense has allowed 19.4 points and 307.9 yards of offense per game this season, and is perfectly capable of containing Harris, Kelvin Taylor, Demarcus Robinson and the Florida offense. The issue is whether or not the Bulldogs can score enough against a similarly stingy Gators defense. Quarterback Greyson Lambert (or possibly Brice Ramsey), running back Sony Michel and wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell will have their hands full with a talented Florida defense that has held opponents to 314.4 yards on average.
The unranked/lower-ranked team has won two of the last three games in this series. Don’t be shocked if it becomes three out of four.
Next: Vanderbilt at Houston