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For the second straight season, the Florida Gators might have a conference game against a rival moved to a different venue. Last year, Hurricane Matthew forced the Gators home game against LSU to be played in Baton Rouge instead of Gainesville. Florida responded with a massive defensive effort in an upset win that propelled the Gators to an SEC East title. Their game against the Tennessee Volunteers this week might be moved to another location and Gators Nation is hoping for a similar result if that’s what it comes to.
Watch this regular season Week 3 matchup live on Saturday, September 16, 2017, at 3:30 p.m. ET at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida. This game will be broadcast on CBS.
College Football Opening Odds at BookMaker.eu
Tennessee +5.5
Florida -5.5
Over/Under 49.5
Odds Analysis
Florida had to cancel its game against Northern Colorado due to Hurricane Irma last week and looks set to play this one no matter what. The Gators are eager to return to the field after an abysmal offensive performance against Michigan in their season opener. Florida only managed three points on offense and could barely move the ball against Michigan following its opening drive.
Tennessee looked dead in its opener against Georgia Tech. The Volunteers were getting gashed on the ground and didn’t seem to be able to have any answers for the triple option. However, they came back with a flurry and ended up sending the game to overtime where they won after a failed two-point conversion by Georgia Tech in double overtime. They followed that up with an easy win over Indiana State, but failed to cover the spread.
Last Year’s Meeting
Florida seemed destined to continue its recent dominance over Tennessee last season. The Gators raced out to a 21-3 lead at halftime and Rocky Top was pretty silent after feeling like it had seen this script before.
However, Josh Dobbs had other plans in mind. He led the Volunteers to 35 second half points in a furious rally that ended with Tennessee beating Florida for the first time in 12 years. The win kicked off a roller coaster of a season for Tennessee, who also played thrillers against Georgia and Texas A&M. At the end of the season though, the Gators won the SEC East over the Vols because the Vols dropped too many games to lesser opponents in conference.
Matchups to Watch
Florida is still determining who will be its quarterback this season. The Gators played graduate transfer Malik Zaire and freshman Feleipe Franks in the opener against Michigan and neither one could play effectively well. Zaire is more of a traditional pocket passer, while Franks is more likely to try to make a play with his feet if he doesn’t see anyone open. UF also has Luke Del Rio available but it seems unlikely he is going to play barring injury to both Franks and Zaire.
Butch Jones did have a quarterback controversy during summer, but Quinten Dormady outperformed Jarrett Guarantano in the Georgia Tech game and won the job then. Dormady is a much more polished passer than Guarantano and more reliable in Jones’ offense.
Free ATS Pick
It seems there is a greater than 50 percent chance that this game will not be played in Gainesville. The Gators don’t want to play it in Knoxville unless the Volunteers agree to swap next year’s home game, but Tennessee might not want to do that. If the game moves all bets void, so keep that in mind.
Although Florida’s did not look good at all against Michigan, the Gators defense was solid and that will be the difference maker against the Volunteers. This front seven is very hard to run on and Dormady won’t be able to throw on the secondary.
College Football Odds: Gators 27, Volunteers 20
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