Kentucky vs. Florida Total Prediction
Will Saturday night’s SEC matchup between Kentucky and Florida turn into a defensive struggle with the total now down in the 40s? The conference rivals will meet at 7:30 p.m. ET in the Swamp.
Game Snapshot
371 Kentucky Wildcats vs. 372 Florida Gators
7:30 p.m. ET, Saturday, September 8, 2018
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida
Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetNow.eu, the Gators are 14-point favorites to beat the Wildcats. The total, meanwhile, sits at 49 points. As of this writing, 52% of the public betting tickets wagered on this matchup are on the Gators.
Kentucky Wildcats
Kentucky redshirt sophomore RB A.J. Rose had eight carries for 104 yards and two touchdowns in a 28-20 victory over Central Michigan on Saturday. Rose only had the eight touches, but he sure did make the most of them as you can see from that box score. He got Kentucky back on the board with a 55-yard run in the first quarter, and he found the end zone again from four-yards out to make it 35-20 at the top of the fourth. In between were a few solid runs, but this is clearly the Benny Snell show at Kentucky. Rose will be back on the field next Saturday against the Gamecocks of South Carolina.
Florida Gators
Florida redshirt sophomore QB Feleipe’ Frank completed 16-of-24 passes for 219 yards with five touchdowns in a 53-6 crushing of Charleston Southern on Saturday. Franks was facing a clearly inferior program, but considering how much he struggled last year, this has to be a positive. For the most part, the sophomore was accurate with his throws, and it also helps that he has more playmakers around him. He found Ole miss transfer Van Jefferson for two scores, and Trevon Grimes, Tyrie Cleveland and Josh Hammond also were benefactors. Again, it’s against Charleston Southern, but there’s some reason for optimism here. An SEC showdown with Kentucky comes next for the Gators.
Betting Trends
Kentucky
The over is 5-2 in the Wildcats’ last seven games overall.
Florida
The over is 5-1 in the Gators’ last six games in September.
Prediction
I don’t see how Kentucky generates much offense on Saturday. The Wildcats defense had to bail out the offense last week after the latter turned the ball over four times in a narrow victory over MAC opponent Central Michigan at home. Plus, UK backup quarterback Gunnar Hoak had to replace starter Terry Wilson, who left the game with a shoulder injury sustained while throwing his second interception. Credit Hoak for getting the job done against CMU at home but facing Florida in the Swamp will be a different animal. Meanwhile, Feleipe Franks threw five touchdown passes in the first half of Florida’s blowout victory over Charleston Southern but he too will face a bigger challenge on Saturday against a Kentucky defense that stepped up a week ago. With the total dropping from 53.5 down to 49, I see Saturday night being low-scoring in Gainesville.
College Football Prediction: Kentucky/Florida under 49