Florida vs. Miami predictions, odds: How to bet and watch Gators vs. Canes

No. 8 Florida welcomes unranked Miami and first-year head coach Manny Diaz as the Hurricanes look for a big upset to start the college football season.

College football season is finally here and we get an interesting one to start the season with No. 8 Florida taking on a Miami squad that went 7-6 last season. First-year head coach Manny Diaz taking over for the retired Mark Richt looks to start his tenure with a big upset against one of their in-state rivals to start the season.

The Gators went 10-3 in Dan Mullen’s first year with a New Year’s Six Bowl win in the Peach Bowl over Michigan. Picked to finish second in the SEC East by the media, Florida would love a convincing win against a Power 5 opponent to jumpstart their season.

This game should be a defensive battle, with both teams becoming known some pretty stout defenses over the years. Specifically, Miami’s pass defense ranked No. 1 in the country and they were tops in getting tackles for loss as well. Florida, while they finished in the middle of the SEC in total defense, the experience should make an already solid defense better this year with 13 of their 17 top tacklers returning in 2019.

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The defenses were great, where there will be questions going into the game on Saturday though is on the offensive side. It was a quarterback battle all spring and fall at Miami but surprisingly the redshirt freshman Jarren Williams got the nod over former Buckeye Tate Martell. The performance from Williams has the potential to set the tone against a Florida defense that is very talented. If he can put up some numbers and lead Miami to a victory in this one, all eyes will be on Miami as favorites to reach the ACC Championship this season.

For Florida, quarterback Feleipe Franks looks to build on last year’s season that saw him throw for 2,457 yards and 24 touchdowns. He was a very smart decision-maker as well, only throwing six interceptions on the year. Franks has all the tools to show he is a 3,000-plus yards type of player and he should get a little bit of target practice against a Miami secondary that lost three out of four starters from 2018.

Both teams have talent at the other skill positions as well, with Miami donning a talented group of receivers and Florida having a very talented backfield. Running back Lamical Perine has the chance to break out this season so Florida’s ability to set the tone with the rushing game will give it a heightened advantage over a Hurricane squad that lost their leading rusher.

How to bet and watch Miami vs. Florida

• Date: Saturday, Aug. 24
• Start: 7 p.m. ET
• Location: Orlando, FL
• Stadium: Camping World Stadium
• TV channel: ESPN
• Odds: Florida -7.5 (Bovada)
• Over/Under: 46 (Bovada)
• Live stream: WatchESPN

Prediction: It can be tough to tell who is going to have the upper-hand in a season-opening game between two pretty storied programs. Florida just seems to have more talent and experience on both sides of the football. They have a quarterback who went 10-3 last season and will play against a redshirt freshman in his debut against a talented Gator secondary. The Hurricanes will keep it close but the Gators will pull away in the end and cover the 7.5 point spread and hit the over 46.

Score:  Florida 31, Miami 17