After a long offseason, we've finally made it to the first full Saturday college football slate of the 2024-25 season.Â
The schedule is chalk-full of top-tier games, including Florida hosting No. 19 Miami at The Swamp in Gainesville.Â
Below, FrontPageBets takes a look at Florida vs. Miami (FL) odds and makes a pick for the matchup on Saturday afternoon:
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It’ll be a Sunshine State Showdown in Week 1, as the Miami Hurricanes travel to Gainesville on Saturday to face the Florida Gators to kick off the season.
Miami, ranked 19th in the AP Top 25 preseason poll, comes into 2024 with a seemingly new-look roster thanks to the transfer portal.
One of head coach Mario Cristobal’s many additions is Washington State quarterback Cam Ward, who started every game (25) of his two-year career with the Cougars.
Ward threw for nearly 7,000 yards for WSU and 48 touchdowns with a career passing percentage of 65.5%. He also rushed for 13 scores.
The Hurricanes also added six significant transfers on defense, which should help solidify a team that lost four of its last five games in 2023.
If Miami can get off on the right foot, an ACC title is definitely within reach, as Florida State, which was picked to win the conference, lost its Week 0 opener to Georgia Tech last Saturday in Ireland.
The Gators, who went 5-7 last year, losing their final seven games, enter 2024 with a massive hill to climb. Not only does Florida play in the stacked SEC East, but it has one of the toughest schedules in the country, facing eight top 25 teams, including No. 1 Georgia (Nov. 2), No. 4 Texas (Nov. 9), No. 13 LSU (Nov. 16) and No. 6 Ole Miss (Nov. 23) in four consecutive weeks.
UF does return starting quarterback Grahm Mertz, who has a lot of experience. Mertz spent four season at Wisconsin before transferring to Florida last year, where he threw for 2,903 yards and 20 touchdowns. For his collegiate career, Mertz has 8,308 passing yards and 58 touchdowns.
He’ll need every bit of that experience to help the Gators compete this season.
This Saturday, even though Florida is at home, it’ll be tough for the Gators to compete with the Hurricanes.
Miami covers the 2.5 points in a high-scoring game that goes over the 53.5-point total.
Florida vs. Miami (FL) Predictions For Aug. 31
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Mike Szvetitz is the General Manager and Content Director for FrontPageBets.com. Szvetitz is a 24-year veteran reporter and editor, including serving 17 years as a sports editor in Florida, Alabama and Virginia, covering everything from preps to pros. His "View From The Lazy Boy" column won multiple state and national awards. He can be reached at mszvetitz@timesdispatch.com.
