South Florida at Florida
Written by Steve Janus - Google +
This Saturday the No.6 ranked Florida Gators will host the South Florida Bulls. It is the first time these two in-state teams will square off on the football field. Florida kicked off the 2010 season with solid 34-12 win over Miami (OH). South Florida also got the season started with a win, as they easily beat Stony Brook 59-14. If you are interested in the odds for this game, the oddsmakers currently have the Gators listed as 16-point favorites over the Bulls at home.
Florida didn’t dominate Miami like a lot of people expected them to, as Florida only held a 21-12 lead with just over 13 minutes to play in the 4th quarter. With Tim Tebow gone, all eyes were on junior quarterback John Brantley, and while his numbers weren’t off the charts, he played pretty well, throwing for 113 yards and two touchdowns on 17 of 25 passing. The Gators starting running back Jeff Demps finished with 98 yards on eight carries, including an impressive 72-yard touchdown run early in the 4th quarter. Chris Rainey also had a nice day for the offense, as he hauled in six passes from Brantley for 34 yards and a score.
The Gators only managed 212 yards of offense and turned the ball over three times in their win over Miami. If it wasn’t for the defense stepping up when it mattered the Gators might have actually lost this game, as the Florida defense held Miami to just four field goals and created four turnovers.
South Florida racked up 563 yards of total offense against Stony Brook, in a game wasn’t close from the start. The Bulls got a strong performance out of sophomore quarterback BJ Daniels, as he threw for 264 yards and two touchdowns on 15 of 22 passing. Sophomore Evan Landi also had a big game for the Bulls, as he hauled in six passes for 104 yards and a touchdown.
The South Florida defense played very well, intercepting four passes, including one by safety Matt Joyce that went for a touchdown. The Bulls were a little sloppy on special teams, as they had two costly mistakes that led to scores for Stony Brook.
Looking at the Odds: There is no question that Florida is going to have play much better than it did in the opener if they are going to cover the 16-point spread in this one, and I believe they will, as this is a young team that just needs to get some games under their belt before we really see what they have to offer.
I have no doubt that the Gators are the more talented football team, and I think there struggle in the first week against Miami is only going to help them, as they now realize they must come in focused and ready to play if they want to win. My final score prediction is Florida 34 South Florida 17.
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