Few matchups across the college football landscape are more impactful than this weekend's clash between Ole Miss and Florida. Both teams are coming off impressive victories, as the Gators controlled the game against Auburn from start to finish on the road, while the Rebels just won their Super Bowl — exacting some revenge on Lane Kiffin and LSU with a 32-24 victory in the Magnolia Bowl. It's hard to quantify the level of stress and preparation that went into that game, and I highly doubt that Ole Miss will have an emotional release for the rest of the season that compares to what we saw in the moments after the clock struck zero. With that in mind, this has created a pretty obvious hangover spot that the market is pricing into this number. It won't be cheap to back Florida this week, but the Gators are the right side in this SEC showdown.
When looking at these teams on paper, there isn't much that separates them. In fact, Florida might be the more complete overall team from top to bottom. Led by offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, the Gators offense has been a well-oiled machine through their first few games, as Florida has been able to dictate the pace and tempo through its very effective ground game. Aaron Philo has proven himself to be a competent quarterback, while Jadan Baugh is arguably the best running back in the nation and leads a very dynamic skill position group in Gainesville. On the other side of the ball, Florida's defense has been a solid unit to this point, and that includes a couple of games against solid offenses (FAU and Auburn). Trinidad Chambliss and the Ole Miss offense is certainly a different animal, but it's hard to expect a similarly spirited effort from Pete Golding's group in a pretty brutal hangover spot on the road. I'd lay it with the Gators at anything under a field goal.
Ole Miss vs Florida prediction: Florida ML (-145) available at time of publishing. Florida -3 also playable at -125 or better.
