2012 Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl Odds
Written by Steve Janus
One of the more interesting bowl games is the 2012 Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Florida Gators. The big news surrounding this game is former Florida head coach Urban Meyer has accepted an offer to becoming the head football coach at Ohio State. Meyer left the Gators prior to this season with health concerns, but those concerns were thrown out the window when the opportunity to become a Buckeye presented itself. Meyer won’t even be at the game, but you will surely hear a lot about the coach during the broadcast. Kickoff is scheduled Monday, January 2nd at 1:00 ET and will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
Taking a look at the college football bowl lines, oddsmakers currently have Florida favored by 2-points over Ohio State with the total set at 44 points.
Florida:
The Gators opened up the season 4-0 and were ranked as high as No. 12 in the Top 25, but that was where the fun stopped for Florida. They would end up finishing the season 2-6 over their final eight games. Florida finished 6-6 overall and just 3-5 inside the SEC.
Florida has really struggled to find a replacement at quarterback since Tim Tebow departed after the 2009-10 season. Senior John Brantley never quite emerged into the star everyone was hoping he would be. Brantley threw for 1,912 yards with just 10 touchdowns to six interceptions.
The Gators have also played their two freshmen quarterbacks Jacoby Brissett and Jeff Diskel, but neither has showed a whole lot of promise in limited action. Both completed right around 47% of their passes and combined for just two touchdowns to six interceptions.
Most of the offense came from senior running backs Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps. Rainey led the team with 790 yards on 155 carries, while Demps rushed for 439 yards and six touchdowns on just 91 attempts. Rainey was also a huge part of the passing game, catching 28 passes for 350 yards and two scores.
The Gators offense figures to have a hard time getting a whole lot going against a pretty good Ohio State defense. The Buckeyes finished 49th against the run (142.4 ypg) and 15th against the pass (186.2 ypg).
Ohio State:
The Buckeyes had one of their worst seasons in school history. Ohio State finished 6-6 overall, but were just 3-5 in the Big Ten. It was the first time since 1999 that the Buckeyes finished with a losing conference record. The players that were eligible to play were really put in a tough spot, as the attention around this team was more about the off=field problems than the players who were playing.
The biggest loss for Ohio State was senior quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who many believed would be a big time threat to win the Heisman Trophy. Had Pryor and the rest of the players who were suspended returned, the Buckeyes could have very well finished the season undefeated.
With Pryor gone, the Buckeyes were forced to turn to true freshman Braxton Miller at quarterback. Miller had his ups and downs as a starter, but overall he showed some nice promise for the future. Miller threw for just 997 yards, but finished with 11 touchdowns to just four interceptions. The youngster can do more than just throw the ball, he had a team-high 695 rushing yards and seven touchdowns.
Two players that could have a big impact on this game or senior running back Dan Herron and senior wide out DeVier Posey. Herron finished second on the team with 596 rushing yards, despite not playing in the team’s first six games. Posey only played in the final two games, but had seven catches for 124 yards and a touchdowns.
Ohio State will likely need both Herron and Posey to put up points against the Gators defense. Florida comes into the game 37th against the run (132.3 ypg) and 10th against the pass (167.3 ypg).
Betting Trends:
Florida is 5-1 ATS in their last 6 Bowl games.
Ohio State is 11-2 ATS in their last 13 non-conference games.
Projected Score: Florida 23, Ohio State 21
Be sure to stop back and check out who Steve Janus has picked to win the rest of the college football bowl season. Also, check out our 2011 college football bowl predictions for a preview of every bowl game.
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you know ohio state has really gone thru the ringer with the NCAA breathing down their neck all season.ohio state for some reason fared ok for a bad season.my gripe is the DANG NCAA. any other time if someone in a school done something wrong that the NCAA didn’t like. they would put their foot down on the school and the players involved in the wrong doings.The NCAA would be the judge jury n penalty pusher right then and there.BUT in the case of OHIO STATE. they the {{{NCAA}}} JUDGED the BOYS and COACHES. BUT SIT OUT ON THE JURY TILL THE END OF THE SEASON TO PENALIZE THEM.THAT ONLY MAKES THE TEAM ON EDGE AND ALWAY HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT WHAT THE {{{LORDS OF THE LAND}}}ARE GOING TO GIVE THEM AS PUNISHMENT.I FOR ONE THINK THE NCAA NEEDS TO LOOK AT THEM SELVES AND DO THINGS TO ALL TEAMS AND NOT WAIT TILL THE END OF A SEASON TO PUNISH THEM. IF THEY WANT TO DO THINGS RIGHT .DO IT TO EVERY SCHOOL AT THE TIME OF THE WRONG DOING.THEY ONLY MADE OHIO STATE HAVE TO WONDER WHAT THEY WERE GOING TO DO AT THE END OF THE SEASON TO THEM.WHICH INTURN I BELIEVE MADE THE SEASON FOR THE TEAM TO MAKE MISPLAYS ON THE FIELD IN EVERY GAME.SENSE WHEN DOES THE ALMIGHTY NCAA HAVE TO PLAY GAMES LIKE THEY DID ON OHIO STATE.AND THEIR JUDGEMENT THEY PASSED ON THEM. SEEMS THEY WANTED TO MAKE AN EXAMPLE OF OHIO STATE. WHAT FOR TATOOS AND SELLING RINGS. OHHH MY GOD ITS LIKE OHIO STATE WAS DISTRIBUTING COKE,METH,CRACK,AND WEED. WELL THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE PUNISHMENT FOR THE DRUG SALES.NCAA GET YOUR S__T TOGETHER AND START DOING THE RIGHT THINGS WHEN YOU JUDGE A SCHOOL AND THE TEAM MEMBERS.KEEPING THEM FROM BOWL GAMES.NOW YOUR PUNISHING THE BOYS THAT WERE NOT EVEN INVOLVED.SOME WERE NOT EVEN IN THE SCHOOL YET.I FOR ONE AM VERY PISSED OFF ABOUT YOU AND YOUR 10 COMMANDMENTS.LOYAL BUCKEYE FAN.
the game between OHIO STATE and the GATORS will end like this OHIO STATE 38 GATORS 27.i know cause i ask a swammie and a geinie and a fortune teller. the best score i got came from a fortune cookie i was givin today.lmao.believe me OHIO STATE 44 GATORS 27 i know i’m right see ya!!!!!!!BUCKEYE WILLIE