Kentucky Wildcats at Florida Gators Betting Preview/Prop Pick
07 September 2022
Time: 7:00 pm ET
Dunkel Ratings: Kentucky 97.705; Florida 94.375
Dunkel Line & Total: Kentucky by 3 ½; 55
Vegas Line & Total: Florida by 4 ½; 52
Dunkel Pick: Kentucky (+4 ½); Over
SEC rivals meet up in week 2 of the college football season as the Florida Gators host the Kentucky Wildcats. Both teams picked up a win in Week 1, and it should set up for a great battle this weekend.
Kentucky comes into this game as the 20th-ranked team in the country, and expectations are high for the Wildcats. They picked up a blowout win in Week 1, but it was against a weaker opponent in Miami (OH).
Florida pulled off a stunning upset over the Utah Utes in the season opener, and the home crowd played a big role in that win. The Gators are now the 12th-ranked team in the country, but this will be a big test.
The Florida Gators are 4.5-point betting favorites over the Kentucky Wildcats in this SEC showdown on Saturday night.
Kentucky Can Throw the Ball
The Kentucky Wildcats started to turn their program around a few years ago by becoming a dominant defensive team. Things have changed a bit over time, and Kentucky is now coming into this game with a great offensive team.
Quarterback Will Levis is one of the best in the SEC, and he threw for 303 yards and three touchdowns in the Week 1 win. Kentucky is going to have to run the ball much better in this game, as they had just 50 rushing yards in the season opener.
The Kentucky defense might not have to take over games anymore, but that unit can still be absolutely dominant at times. The Wildcats will keep a spy on the Florida QB, and stopping the run will be priority number 1.
Florida Must Defend
What makes the win over Utah even more impressive for Florida is the fact that they were able to win despite playing poorly on defense. The Gators allowed 230 rushing yards in Week 1, and that defense will be tested in a big way in this game.
Florida wouldn’t have beaten Utah if it weren’t for the play of quarterback Anthony Richardson. The quarterback threw for just 168 yards but had 106 rushing yards and three touchdowns in the win.
The Gators are going to need to give Richardson some help, and that defense is also going to have to find a way to get more stops.
Wildcats Win in Florida
This head-to-head series has been dominated by Florida, but Kentucky was able to pick up a win a season ago. The Gators are going to be looking for some revenge in this one, but Kentucky is pretty clearly the better overall team.
Florida is going to need more than quarterback Anthony Richardson to step up on offense in this game, as Kentucky can be a dominant defensively. The Wildcats are actually a better offensive team in 2022, and it will be that unit that ends up taking control of this game.
Take the Kentucky Wildcats moneyline as they go into Florida and pick up an impressive win over their biggest rivals to move to 2-0.
Prop Pick
Kentucky (-105) OVER 23.5 Points
Kentucky averaged 32.7 points per game on offense last season, which ranked No. 24 in FBS. Florida allowed 24.7 points per game on defense last season, which ranked No. 44 in FBS. Scores have gone OVER in 14 of the Gators’ last 21 games following an ATS victory.
With Dunkel predicting an Kentucky win by the score of 29-26, take the Wildcats (-105) to finish OVER their Vegas team total of 23.5 points against the Gators.
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