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Saturday’s contest between Ole Miss and Florida could be awkward.
The Gators have made no secret about their intention to try and poach Lane Kiffin away from Oxford this offseason, but the Rebels are doing everything they can to drown out the noise and focus on getting to the College Football Playoff.
Ole Miss needs to beat Florida and Mississippi State to guarantee itself a spot at the table.
The Rebels are 14.5-point favorites over the Gators on Saturday.
Florida vs. Ole Miss odds, prediction
The Rebels have been both lucky and good this season. There’s no doubting that Ole Miss is one of the best teams in the country, but Kiffin’s bunch also has been on the right side of some really tight contests.
The Rebels beat Arkansas, LSU, Washington State, Kentucky, and Oklahoma by one score. That’s five of their eight wins, and four of those came against teams that we now know are not very good. Just like Florida.
That said, it’s hard to be encouraged by anything we’ve seen out of the Swamp lately. The Gators gave a decent account of themselves against Georgia in the first game since firing Billy Napier, but that looks like a dead-cat bounce more than anything else. The Gators got absolutely clobbered by Kentucky, 38-7, in Week 11.
Florida quarterback DJ Lagway. Jordan Prather-Imagn Images
Betting on College Football?
Perhaps the Gators are up for this one and relish the chance to play spoiler, but the Rebels are a nightmare to keep up with, especially since Florida’s offense has completely sputtered this season.
The Gators grade out as the 72nd-best offensive team in the country, per SP+, and they rank 96th in yards per play and 128th in points per game. That’s not the kind of scoring power you need to keep up with the Rebels.
I expect Kiffin and Co. to step on the pedal in this one.
The Play: Ole Miss -14.5 (-110, FanDuel)
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Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.