Florida Gators at Miami Hurricanes Betting Preview & Best Bets

The way Carson Beck is playing Miami fans have forgotten all about the disappointment of last season. Off to a 3-0 start the Hurricanes host in-state rival the Florida Gators on Saturday, September 20 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, FL. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC. This is a big game for coach Billy Napier and the Gators, who lost two in a row after opening the campaign with a rout of Long Island.

Florida at Miami Preview

The Gators were looking forward to a strong season after finishing the 2024 campaign on a high note. With victories in the last four games, including two over ranked opponents and a Gasparilla Bowl triumph over Tulane, the heat was off Napier for the time being. The strong close and 55-0 rout of LIU in the opener had the Gators inside the top 15 national rankings.

Playing 12 games as a freshman positioned D.J. Lagway as the front man for the Gators offense. Lagway was fantastic in the opener going 15 of 18 for 120 yards and three TDs before taking a breather early in the second half. Florida failed to build off that momentum getting upset in the Swamp in Week 2 as a 18-point favorite on the college football betting line to USF. The wheels came off last week with Lagway tossing five picks in a 20-10 setback to LSU.

In his 15-game career Lagway has thrown nearly as many interceptions (15) as TD passes (17).
The Gators are 1-8 SU and 4-5 ATS in their last nine games as a road underdog.
Florida has six giveaways this season and is minus-3 in turnover differential.
Allowing an average of 12.7 points has allowed the Gators to cash the UNDER in all three games.

There was no letdown for the Hurricanes after their upset win over Notre Dame in Week 1. They won their next two games handily outscoring FCS Bethune Cookman and South Florida by a combined 94-15. Carson Beck has been phenomenal leading the offense completing more than 78 percent of his passes with multiple scoring strikes in each game.

The month of September has been good to the Canes since the start of the 2023 campaign. They are 10-0 SU and 6-4 against the college football odds in those games with eight of the wins coming in South Beach. Last week the Canes beat USF 49-12 a week after the Bulls upset Florida 18-16 in Gainesville.

Over his last 30 starts Beck has a record of 27-3 throwing 59 TD passes while completing nearly 70 percent of his passes.
Miami has the 14th best run defense in the country allowing just 75 yards per game.
The Canes averaged 43.9 points last season and they are scoring at a 40.3 clip this year.
UM allows just 75 yards a game on the ground holding all three opponents to fewer than 95 yards.

Florida at Miami Predictions

It’s been a tough start for the Gators against FBS opponents with a pair of setbacks and a total of 26 points scored. I can’t see the offense getting that much better against a strong Miami defense. And the Gators have struggled in pass defense allowing 7.2 yards per pass attempt with little pressure. They have just two sacks in three games. Beck is in line for a big game with the over on his 272.5 passing yards a worthy college football betting prop.

Florida at Miami Betting Tips

The Canes opened as a 7-point favorite with a moneyline price of -256 on the CFB line.
When playing as a road dog of at least 7-points, the Gators are 0-8 SU and 4-3-1 ATS in their eight.
Florida is +220 on the college football odds moneyline.
The total surfaced at 51.5 points.
Dating back to last season the Gators have cashed the UNDER in seven straight games.

Florida at Miami Head to Head and Key Stats

Miami won the most recent matchup, 41-17, in Week 1 last year in Gainesville covering the 2-point college football betting pointspread.
The Canes have won two of the last three meetings and four of six since the 2002 season.
Miami has covered in five of those games.
The teams went over the point total in last year’s game and the OVER is 3-1 in games when the total closed at 50 or higher.