Jim McElwain got his coaching tenure with the Florida Gators off on the right foot last week.
He still has to prove that UF will continually beat up the teams they are supposed to take care of, and he'll have another shot to do just that against the East Carolina Pirates this Saturday.
ODDS ANALYSIS
East Carolina was only a 6.5-point underdog last year when these two teams met at the Birmingham Bowl, but this is a far different team and a much different situation. The Pirates are now catching 20 after opening up at just +15, a massive five-point jump in a very short 36 hour window since the betting lines opened up.
The total has dropped as well quite a bit from 56 down to 53.5.
KEY MISMATCH
The real problem here for the Pirates is that they don't have the depth in their secondary to keep up with all of the pass-catching options the Gators bring to the table. UF had 14 different players catch a pass (and 10 different players record a run, for good measure) last week against New Mexico State, and it's not like all of those guys picked up stats in garbage time.
McElwain has made it a point to suggest that he is going to use his club's depth to overwhelm teams which aren't as athletic, particularly in the Florida heat. It's going to be a true test for a club which returns just one starter from its secondary in 2014.
KEY STAT
0 – The number of passes any East Carolina quarterback on the roster had thrown collegiately at the start of this season. Blake Kemp went 29-of-37 for 230 yards against Towson, but he never really stretched out his arm.
Completing 78.4 percent of one's passes should equate to a lot more than 6.2 yards per pass attempt, but that's all Kemp managed against his FCS foe in Week 1.
BETTING ANGLE
Give the Gators all the grief you want about their 26-20 loss to Georgia Southern two seasons ago. Since that point, they have killed all of their foes in which they’ve been huge favorites against, beating up the likes of Eastern Michigan, Eastern Kentucky and most recently, New Mexico State.
All of those wins came by at least 49 points, and all three games were covered as well.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
The Gators aren't quite SEC contenders yet, but they are definitely trending in the right direction with McElwain calling the shots.
Yes, UF hasn't really decided on a quarterback yet between Will Grier and Treon Harris, but both looked amazing last week against New Mexico State. If these two can look anywhere near as good this week against East Carolina, the Pirates are going to be in a lot of trouble.
If you just took the names off of the fronts of the jerseys and just looked at the names on the back, you'd realize that all of the men that made that East Carolina team from last season’s formidable squad are gone; the most important of which was quarterback Shane Carden.
We aren't in Birmingham anymore. ECU is lucky if it gets half of the 536 yards it had in last year's bowl game against the Gators.
Florida 42, East Carolina 13
BookMaker opened the spread for this Saturday game before anyone else on the internet. The Florida Gators opened at -15 alongside a total of 56. In-game spreads, totals, moneylines and props are available for this game using the live betting platform at BookMaker.
Load your betting bankroll from your smartphone or tablet with BookMaker's new cashier feature! Depositing and withdrawing funds from your account has never been easier. BookMaker's live betting platform means you always have access to odds and lines to every sporting event. Click here, and start wagering today! The battle between the East Carolina Pirates and the Florida Gators will kick off Saturday, September 12, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. ET at Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. The contest will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2.
