NCAA Football Lines: Florida at Mississippi State
Written October 23, 2009 by Hector Garza
The Florida Gators (6-0) survived a scare last Saturday in a 23-20 win against Arkansas, and pick up the SEC mantle again as they travel to Starkville to take on the Bulldogs of Mississippi State (3-4). The game is set for 7:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday night, and Florida is the heavy favorite by 22 points with a total set at 48 according to our latest NCAA football betting lines. An interesting storyline is the head coaches, as Urban Meyer will be butting heads against former offensive coordinator Dan Mullen.
While the usually prolific Gator offense has been struggling of late, they’re not a team you want to see visit your stadium. They’re scoring 36.3 ppg on 470.5 yards of offense, and oh yeah, they have Heisman trophy winner Tim Tebow leading the charge. The senior QB is completing over 65% of his passes for over 1000 yards and 8 td’s to only 2 int. The unit is balanced in their attack, throwing for over 210 ypg and rushing for even more at just under 260 ypg.
Offenses put up points, but defenses win championships, and Florida is no exception. They’re ranked first nationally in points allowed (8.7 ppg) and second in pass defense allowing 133.3 ypg. These stats come against teams that can score, like Tennessee, Kentucky and LSU. They’ve got all Americans at almost every position and the defense has recorded 16 sacks in their success to pressure opposing QB’s.
The Bulldogs can run the football as evidenced by the 219 ypg it’s rolling up. Senior RB Anthony Dixon is having a great year, averaging 5.2 ypc with 116 ypg. The passing game isn’t as successful, which leaves this team a little more one sided. Senior QB Tyson Lee has been up and down throwing for 981 yards and 3 td’s and 6 ints. Unless the rushing can get rolling, the offense may have trouble scoring against the #1 defense in the country. If you plan to do any college football betting this season, you should try Bodog, where you can get an UNLIMITED 10% deposit bonus when you sign up for a new account!
The defense will be looking to take advantage of a Gator offense that had 4 turnovers last week and only 3 points in the first half. Still, the stop unit is giving up 354.7 ypg which hasn’t been tough enough to stop most opponents. The line backing core has been a strength with 135 stops between the 3 starters, and they’ll have their hands full again this week.
There’s no doubt Florida can put up the points against a mediocre defense, but the same was said last week against Arkansas. While State does have a losing record, it’s important to note that 3 of their 4 losses have come against teams that are currently ranked (Houston #17, Georgia Tech #12, LSU # 9). What’s more is that they lost to LSU and Houston by a total of 11 points. If State can run the football to eat up the clock, then they can easily beat the 22 point spread, especially if Florida is turning over the football. Look for the home field advantage to help State in a closer than predicted loss.
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