Florida (10-1) @ Florida State (8-3)

By WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

Sports Betting at WagerWeb Online Sportsbook

The No. 2 Florida Gators wouldn’t possibly look past archrival Florida State on Saturday and be thinking of next weekend’s SEC title tilt and de facto national championship play-in game against Alabama, would they?

Hard to imagine Urban Meyer not having his team fired up because he knows the No. 23 Seminoles will be, as they have lost four straight in this series (scoring an average of just 11.5 points). And, who knows, this could be the final Florida-FSU game for Noles coach Bobby Bowden. UF is a 16.5-point favorite on WagerWeb.com.

In 2006, the teams were in a similar position, with Florida a sizable favorite in Tallahassee and needing a win to keep its national title hopes alive. The game was close, however, with Chris Leak eventually throwing the game-winning TD pass to Dallas Baker. Last year was no contest, a 45-12 Gators victory that stamped Tim Tebow’s Heisman.

The Seminoles are much improved this season, especially in their ground game. FSU has rushed for at least 100 yards in nine games and for 200 yards in four games, doing so by involving QB Christian Ponder along with the receivers and running backs. An effective ground game would help eat up the clock and keep Florida’s explosive offense off the field. The Gators allow an average of 102.8 yards on the ground per game.

“We’re not changing what we’re doing and the running game is going to be a big part,” Ponder said.



Ponder has a modest 56.4 percent completion rate with just one more touchdown pass than interception (12-11) - but in last weekend’s of Maryland completed 19 of 24 passes for 143 yards and a touchdown, and ran 14 times for 81 yards and another score.

Florida has the No. 3 scoring defense in the nation, allowing 12 points per game, compared with No. 46 last season. It ranked No. 98 in pass defense last year; this season, it is No. 20. And the Gators have gone from No. 41 in total defense to No. 3. They lead the nation with a plus-18 turnover margin.

However, Florida could be without two defensive tackles in starter Lawrence Marsh and reserve Matt Patchan on Saturday because of knee injuries.

The first quarter Saturday should be interesting. The Gators have outscored opponents 146-7 in the first quarter, while FSU has scored just 62 points in the opening quarter, and 28 came against Division I-AA teams Western Carolina and Chattanooga. FSU also has fallen behind at least 10-0 in four of its past six games.

Behind Tebow and Percy Harvin, the Gators average 46.5 points per game — third-best in the country — and they’ve averaged 63.0 in their last two victories.

The Gators are just 1-5 ATS in their past six visits to Tallahassee.

Bet on Florida @ Florida State