In the first of many top-10 SEC matchups, the No. 7 Auburn Tigers will travel to Gainesville to take on the No. 10 Florida Gators.
It will be the battle of two inexperienced quarterbacks in Gainsville this Saturday as true freshman Bo Nix will head the Tiger offense and backup Kyle Trask will be behind center for the Gators.
Each has had success though, as Nix has thrown for 980 yards, seven touchdowns, and two interceptions. Trask has thrown for 607 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions since coming in against Kentucky after Feleipe Franks went down with an injury.
It won’t be easy for either of them either as both teams support top-20 defenses in points allowed per game this season and should give the quarterbacks some trouble. Two guys in the Gator secondary, in particular, should make an impact as defensive backs Kaiir Elam and Shawn Davis come into this one with two interceptions each. Look for them both to continue to feast this week against a freshman quarterback.
Normally when these two teams meet, it’s a pretty prolific showdown with Auburn having the series lead 63-58 and having won the last three contests between the two schools.
Look for both teams to put added pressure on the quarterbacks to try to make them one-dimensional and force them into mistakes.
Both teams come into this one undefeated in the SEC and will be looking to get a head start before they head into the tougher games against the likes of Alabama, Georgia, and LSU. All of which are top five teams in the country right now.
Date: Saturday, Oct. 5
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Location: Gainesville, Florida
Stadium: Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
TV Channel: CBS
Odds: Auburn -3.0 (Bovada)
Over/Under: 48.0 (Bovada)
Live Stream: CBSSports.com
Prediction: I think most people are coming into this one expecting Auburn to win. It’s not often that we see a game between two top-10 teams with the away team picked to win by three. But that is the case here as the oddsmakers don’t trust Trask and the Gators to be able to overcome a talented Auburn squad. The solid defenses from both teams should make this one close and as much as I want to pick Florida to pull off the home upset, I just can’t bring myself to do it. The offense was bad against a below-average Miami squad to start the season, and that was with their starting quarterback. This Auburn defense will be the best one they have seen this season. Give me Auburn to cover the spread and the under.
Score: Auburn 24, Florida 14