Florida vs Texas Prediction and Picks: Wounded Gators Strike Hard

The Florida Gators are having a season to forget but a memorable showing against the No. 5 ranked Texas Longhorns will more than make up for it. While Chris Hatfield isn't predicting an outright win, he believes the Gators are catching too many points.

Chris Hatfield - Betting Analyst at Covers.com
Chris Hatfield • Betting Analyst
Nov 7, 2024 • 19:16 ET • 4 min read

NCAAF

Match starts: 37 hrs
TEX
46 %
FLA
54 %
EXPERT PICK - SPREAD
Florida +21.5 (-110) Florida +21.5 (-110)
Read Analysis
Jadan Baugh Florida Gators NCAAF
Photo By - Imagn Images.

Florida and Texas will meet in an SEC affair for the first matchup in a long time. 

These two teams have played only three other times in school history. The last meeting came several decades ago in 1940 a Texas shutout win. The Horns will enter off a bye week and a close win over Vanderbilt but my Florida vs. Texas predictions believe the Gators are getting too many points.  

Read on for my Florida vs Texas college football picks for Saturday, November 9th.

Florida vs Texas prediction and best bet

My best bet
Florida +21.5 (-110 at BetMGM)
Picks made at time of writing may not reflect live odds.

My analysis
No matter how it’s looked, Florida has at least positioned itself to make a bowl game, even if it will be difficult.

The expectation for the Florida football program is far beyond making a bowl, however, a fair amount of people would have doubted it could reach six wins (and it still may not). Its ability to continue fighting and battling each week over the last month has been admirable and it’s given me confidence to back them here. I’m grabbing Florida, at just over three touchdowns. to cover for my best bet. 

If you asked me a month ago, I would have told you Texas was the best team in college football. Then the Georgia loss happened, a loss that was never really in doubt, and Texas didn’t inspire confidence after following up with Vanderbilt a week later. The score was probably closer than the game was in reality but make no mistake, the Horns had to fight to come out of Tennessee with a win. 

"Quinn had a good week," head coach Steve Sarkisian said. "He looks fresh, he looks healthy. He's delivering the ball well.”

Quinn Ewers certainly needed a good week of practice. It looked like the bye week came at the perfect time for him after throwing two interceptions against the Dores’. I’d say there’s some type of suspicion here that they’ll benefit from the bye week too but I think it’s priced a bit too much in a spread that I made 17. 

That’s because this Florida defense has quietly improved as the season has gone on and could make an impact here. 

Coming into this matchup Florida ranks 34th in EPA per drop back but more important to this handicap, has been able to create a good amount of havoc. In fact, if you just make the subset of data the past three games, Florida has created the third most havoc in the SEC and that’s huge going into this matchup.

Ewers has been unsteady since returning from injury. He’s still a talented pass-thrower, who will make several big throws but I’m not sure he’s made the Texas-sized jump that some expected this year. Against this defense, I think he may put up some balls for grabs that Florida will take advantage of. Not only that but the success rate of Texas’ offense has been directly correlated with how successful they are on third down. This Florida defense should be able to at least make some plays that put them behind the chains and make those conversions much more difficult. 

On the other side of the ball, there’s not much to say about the Florida offense but it’s not a real integral part of my handicap.

If we can get multiple scores from them, I think we’ll be in a good spot because I think they are going to do everything possible to shorten this game and maintain possession. After two injuries, Florida will be on its third starting quarterback of the season, another fact that has inflated this line some.

Not a ton is known about Yale Transfer Aidan Warner but he was fairly pedestrian in his 22 passes thrown against Georgia.

That said, you can bet Florida has schemed for safe throws and ways to drain the clock against one of the nation's best defenses in this spot. Ultimately there’s not a ton of positives to say about the Florida offensive matchup but this handicap comes down to it being a few too many points given the expected game theory.

Florida vs Texas same-game parlay (SGP)

Florida +21.5

Under 47.5

Jadan Baugh anytime TD

There is far too much value here.

As we’ve noted above, we expect the Florida approach to this game to be one time-consuming drive and clock-draining playcalling. With that in mind, the first leg of our same-game parlay is the Under. It’s a number that made exactly the same in projecting this game but if Florida covers, this game is going Under in almost all situations.

The last leg of this is Jadan Baugh to find the endzone. There are two parts to this play, well sorta three. First, the injuries in the running back run, most notably to Montrell Johnson, have opened up things for Baugh. Secondly, if Florida gets the position to score a touchdown, it’s highly unlikely they are going to take many risks with a third-string quarterback, and last week Baugh got the most carries of any player. We’ll take him at the price. 

Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.

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Florida vs Texas odds

Florida vs Texas live odds

Florida vs Texas opening odds

  • Florida vs. Texas spread: Texas -21.5
  • Florida vs. Texas moneyline: Florida +1,100, Texas -2,500
  • Florida vs. Texas Over/Under: 47.5

Odds courtesy of BetMGM

Florida vs Texas spread and Over/Under analysis

  • Florida has been a covering machine lately with a 5-0 ATS record in its last five games. 
  • Unfortunately, that stretch of five games has only included five wins for the Gators. Those wins were Kentucky, Central Florida, and Mississippi State.
  • Texas may only have one loss this season but hasn’t played well lately with just one cover over its last four games.
  • Neither of these teams tilt in a particular direction on a total. Combined the two schools are 11-9 to the Over in their last ten games. 

Florida vs Texas betting trend to know

Florida has hit the 1H Moneyline in 6 of their last 10 games (+7.10 Units / 64% ROI). Find more college football betting trends for Florida vs Texas.

Florida vs Texas game info

Location: DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin, TX
Date: Saturday, 11-9, 2024
Kickoff: 12:00 p.m. ET
TV: ABC

Florida vs Texas latest injuries

Florida vs Texas weather

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Chris Hatfield - Covers.com
Betting Analyst

Chris has always had a passion for three things: solving problems, sports, and writing. It’s no wonder then that he found himself attracted to the sports betting industry. You can find Chris betting every day. Whether it’s shot prop markets in Champions League Soccer qualifiers or NBA Summer League, he has no offseason. As an EV+ bettor, he especially values the insight gained through a data-driven approach.

His work has been featured on various websites such as SBNation, Rivals, Bleacher Report, and 247Sports. He has appeared on radio outlets such as ESPN 680 and The Sharp 600 podcast. You can listen to his own podcast, “What High School Did You Go To?” on Apple Podcast and Soundcloud.

Chris has carved out a niche as a college basketball originator with massive profitability success in that sport and stresses one piece of advice to sports bettors: exploit edges as broadly as possible and take advantage of them while they last. His preferred sportsbook is bet365 because of the range of markets you can find.

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