South Florida vs Florida State College Football Spreads
Written September 24, 2009 by Jordan Haimowitz
The South Florida Bulls enter this afternoon’s game against the Noles a perfect 3-0. Those three wins though are as impressive as if they were none. So far the Bulls have beaten Wofford, Western Kentucky and Charleston Southern, not exactly a gruesome first three games I’d say.
Senior quarterback Matt Grothe has been good so far this season, not great, but good. He has thrown for 512 yards and 5 TDs with two interceptions against three stooges he has faced. The running back combo of Moise Blancher and B.J. Daniels have combined for 342 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns.
This team has one big play wide receiver and that man is Carlton Mitchell who has caught 14 passes for 230 yards and one touchdown to date. So the Bulls have a well balanced offense that could be effective in all aspects of the game. Now, the questions and concerns for USF in this game will be if their inexperienced secondary can stay with the explosive FSU passing attack.
The Bulls have two sophomores starting in that secondary in which neither have any quality experience to note. On the positive side they field one of the best defensive end combos in the nation, both seniors George Selvie and Aaron Harris are expected to be playing on Sundays in the future.
Head coach Jim Leavitt understands how tough a task this will be to defeat FSU on the road after they just slipped back into the top 25. The x-factor for the road team today will no doubt be cornerbacks Jerome Murphy and Quenton Washington (sophomore first year starter).
If these guys can limit the long balls by Christian Ponder of FSU, the Bulls have a chance to win let alone cover, if they don’t, expect a big time blowout. The latest college football spreads have Florida State listed as a 14 point favorite over South Florida, with the total set at an even 50 points.
The Florida State Seminoles dropped their 2009 opener to the Miami Hurricanes at home 38-34 in what was an instant classic. The next week they struggled in defeating Jacksonville State 19-9, a game that was also at home. So, week three they make their first road trip of the year which was on the other side of the country, the opponent, BYU who was ranked in the top 10 at the time.
In what was an offensive rout, a sheer clinic put on by Florida State, the Seminoles defeated the Cougars 54-28. Starting quarterback Christian Ponder went 21-26 for 195 yards and 2 touchdowns, efficient but not gaudy numbers he put up. The running game on the other hand wasn’t as interested in efficiency, they brought the hammer down last Saturday combining for an unbelievable 313 yards on 49 carries as a team.
Ty Jones was fantastic as was Ponder. Number one receiver Jarmon Fortson caught 6 passes for 62 yards and a touchdown as three other Seminole receivers combined for 30+ yards receiving. The offense has been spectacular, very few teams have been more impressive in that end, the defense Florida State fields is what could hold this team back from making a serious run at this ACC Title.
They gave up 473 total yards against BYU, 321 vs. Jacksonville State 476 when they faced Miami. So work needs to be done to say the least in terms of just flat out playing better and harder. The defensive end position has been invisible this season as they had no pass rush at all. Linebacker Dekoda Watson is their best defensive player and a guy who will be shadowing Matt Grothe all game long just waiting till he takes off out of the backfield.
The x-factor for the Noles today will be the same as their opponent, if the secondary performs well by not allowing South Florida big plays then FSU will win this game handily, if they play like they have in previous weeks, then we will be in for another close one to the very end. If you plan to do any college football betting this season, be sure you take advantage of the $500 match bonus being offered at BetUS!
Haimo’s Hot Notes:
South Florida are 2-9 ATS vs. a team with a winning record.
Over is 6-2 in FSU last 8 home games.
Florida State is 3-4 ATS in their last seven games overall.
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2 Responses to “South Florida vs Florida State College Football Spreads”
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I don’t mean to be rude at all, but it says this was written on 9/24 which makes me wonder if you are just trying to go off stats and if you’re up to date on news surrounding the teams. BJ Daniels, though second in rush yards on the team, was actually the backup quarterback and is going to be starting for this game as Matt Grothe just suffered an ACL injury and will be out for the rest of the season. So beyond the Cornerbacks of USF another big question will be whether or not a redshirt freshman quarterback who will be having his first career start is going to be able to hold his own with his lack of experience. Like I said, not trying to be rude, but might be useful information when considering the spread.
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Ditto. It’s obvious that Miss Haimowitz has done little or no research on the Bulls. I realize that USF is not yet a top 25 team, but for an alleged professional betting site, this is pretty shoddy.
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