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Gators open as 7.5-point underdogs vs. Miami

On3 imageby: Keith Niebuhr2 hours agoOn3Keith
Florida-Gators-DJ-Lagway-Billy-Napier
Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier talks with Florida Gators quarterback DJ Lagway (2) against the South Florida Bulls during the first quarter at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. (Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images)

With his seat likely getting hotter by the day, Billy Napier and his Florida Gators face yet another tough test this week when they play the No. 4 Miami Hurricanes on the road Saturday night. Vegas likes the ‘Canes.

BetMGM, the official betting partner of On3, has made Florida a 7.5-point underdog. The over/under is 52.5 points.

The Gators enter Saturday’s game, which has a 7:30 p.m. ET start time and will be broadcast by ABC, at just 1-2 after consecutive losses to USF [18-16] and No. 3 LSU [20-10]. Florida could have won either game without multiple self-inflicted wounds in each.

Against the Bulls, penalties did them in. In the loss to LSU, it was interceptions. Florida quarterback DJ Lagway was intercepted five times, which LSU turned into 10 key points in what otherwise was a defensive slugfest. Meanwhile, the Gators committed numerous costly penalties, including one that took an 87-yard first-half touchdown that would have given them a 10-0 lead off the board.

The Gators finished the game with 366 yards to only 316 for the Tigers. They also had an edge over LSU in first downs, 23-10. But ultimately, the interceptions were the difference as LSU excited the game with a plus-4 turnover margin.

Lagway was 33 of 49 for 287 yards, a touchdown and the five picks. Lagway’s most costly interception was a pick six that came with UF trailing just 13-10 in the second half. Tigers safety Dashawn Spears stepped in front of a Lagway pass and returned it 58 yards for a touchdown at the 8:08 mark of the third quarter.

As for Napier, he enters this game just 20-21 as Florida’s coach. One of the losses was a 41-17 setback to Miami at The Swamp in last season’s opener. The ‘Canes currently are 3-0 after pummeling the same USF team that beat UF a week earlier,  49–12.

Quarterback Carson Beck, a transfer from Georgia, leads the Miami offense. He has thrown for 812 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions in three games. The ‘Canes’ biggest win this season came in Week 1, when they beat then-No. 5 Notre Dame 27-24 at home.

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