Betting the Florida Over/Under – College Football Betting

After four years, the great Tim Tebow has finally graduated from Florida, with two National Championships and a Heisman Trophy, and more wins than you can count. Several other stars departed with him.

As you get set to make your college football betting picks, can the Gators possibly have another 10 win season?

Florida Gators- Over 10 Regular Season Wins (-135) or Under 10 Regular Season Wins (+105):

Florida enters this season off another impressive campaign in 2009, one that saw them go 13-1 SU, but disappoint bettors with just a 7-6 record ATS. As they enter 2010, the biggest questions for them come at the quarterback position.

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That’s where redshirt junior John Brantley takes over for the departed Tebow. While Brantley comes in with an excellent resume (He was a high school All-American as a senior in Ocala, Florida), he has very little game experience, throwing just 48 passes in 2009. Luckily for college betting fans, he did look good in that limited time, completing 75 percent of his passes, for seven touchdowns.

As always, coach Urban Meyer’s cupboard is barely empty at the skill positions.

Florida returns the diminutive Jeffrey Demps at running back, who averaged 7.5 yards per carry in 2009, scoring seven touchdowns. He’ll be joined by big back Emmanuel Moody, providing a solid “thunder and lightning,” combination.

At wide receiver, the Gators have several young players chomping at the bit, as this will be a more pass happy attack with Tebow now in the NFL. Look for a big season from leading returning pass catcher Deonte Thompson (24 catches), as well as Chris Rainey, who was moved from running back. Both Carl Moore and Andre DeBose are coming off injury.

The biggest reason for optimism at Florida though comes in the strength of their offensive line. The coaches at Florida think it might be the best in the country. Four out of five starters return, including center Mike Pouncey, a potential All-American, whose brother Maurkice was a first-round pick of the Steelers. Big Xavier Nixon got some starts at left tackle late in the season, and will begin 2010 protecting Brantley’s blind side.

Like the offense, questions remain on the defense. Linebacker Brandon Hicks will lead this defense, and was third on the team in sacks last year, however, he is the only returning linebacker. There is still great depth in the defensive backfield though, with Will Hill (31 solo tackles) and Ahmad Black emerging as All-SEC caliber players.

Finally, let’s take a look at the schedule, because as always it’s never easy in the SEC. The toughest stretch looks to come early in the season, when the Gators face a pair of SEC West powers in Alabama and LSU in back-to-back weeks, and then must play Mississippi State after that. The SEC East seems manageable, where the Gators will likely be favorites against all five fellow opponents. A road trip to Florida State ends the season.

So when it comes to your college football betting picks, where does that leave the Florida Gators?

While many would say to stay away, this writer will tell you take the OVER.

We’re not saying that this Florida team is as talented as last year’s version, or the version before that, because they’re not.

But with so many players looking to prove themselves, expect this young Gators team to come out hungry to carve their own niche in the Florida record books. By SEC standards, the schedule is manageable, with LSU, Mississippi State and South Carolina at home, with their only truly tough road trip at Alabama.

Tim Tebow and others might be gone, but Urban Meyer is still there. And as long as that’s the case, this will always be a National Championship contender.

Take the OVER in your college football betting picks.

The Pick: Florida OVER 10 wins

Sources: ESPN.com, Covers.com,