Kentucky vs. Florida Spread Prediction
The Florida Gators are listed as nearly a two-touchdown favorite over SEC rival Kentucky on Saturday night in the Swap. Will the Gators cover or can the Wildcats hang within the double-digit point spread?
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 Wildcats are 2-8 against the spread in their last 10 games overall.
Florida
The Gators have failed to cover the spread in each of their last four conference games.
Prediction
Kentucky had its hands full with Central Michigan last week at home but that was mostly because of four early turnovers. They dominated the Chippewas outside of that and if they protect the football tonight I expect them to cover the spread. All-SEC running back Benny Snell and sophomore AJ Rose combined for 229 of the team’s 299 yards and four touchdowns in that opening win and will face a Gators defense that had more issues with Charleston Southern than anyone expected. Again, if Kentucky can protect the football and maintain its rushing dominance then I like the ‘Cats to cover.
College Football Week 2 Prediction: Kentucky Wildcats +13.5