Two SEC matchups highlight this batch of best bets on the college football gridiron for Saturday.
Florida Gators (-5) at Missouri Tigers
Moneyline: Gators -185, Tigers +155
Betting Total: TBA
Time (Eastern): Noon, CBS
The Florida Gators and Missouri Tigers were on the opposite ends of shutouts last week, with Florida destroying Vanderbilt 56-0 while Missouri was blanked 27-0 by Georgia. There’s plenty of value in laying the points with the Gators in this one.
Florida’s only two losses this year occurred against the crème-de-la-crème of the SEC, Georgia and LSU, and they were competitive in both tilts. Gators quarterback Kyle Trask has been highly effective in winning efforts this season, completing 69.1 percent of his passes for 8.58 yards per attempt with a 13-5 TD-INT ratio (five starts).
Missouri’s senior signal caller, Kelly Bryant, didn’t play last week but may suit up here. Based on his last two efforts (23-for-45, 270 yards), he’ll be hard-pressed to keep up with the opposition. The Gators are ninth in the nation in scoring defense while the Tigers are just 19th.
Trends bettors should have faith in Florida, who are 5-1-1 against the spread in their last seven overall, while Missouri has failed to cover in four of their last five contests.
The play: Florida spread
Georgia Bulldogs (-3) at Auburn Tigers
Moneyline: Bulldogs -155, Tigers +135
Betting Total: TBA
Time (Eastern), TV: 3:30 p.m., CBS
The Auburn Tigers’ sputtering offense will likely betray them in their Saturday showdown with the Georgia Bulldogs at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Bo Nix and company have scored 20 or fewer points in three of their last four contests. The freshman signal caller has completed just 55.3 percent of his throws in that span for 6.65 yards per attempt with a woeful 5-4 TD-INT ratio. Those figures simply won’t cut it against Georgia’s fearsome defense that allows just 10.1 points per game, good for second in the country.
The Bulldogs bring a balanced offense into this tilt, with running back D’Andre Swift (6.3 yards per carry on 147 attempts, seven TDs) setting things up for quarterback Jake Fromm (67 percent completion rate, 8.0 yards per attempt, 13-3 TD-INT ratio). Auburn’s defense is tough but not elite at 13th in points allowed per game. Georgia has covered in five of their last six meetings with the Tigers, and bettors can anticipate them prevailing once more in a battle of attrition.
The play: Georgia spread
