- College football season is beginning in a few weeks and with that, the odds are rolling in.
- The Florida team with the best odds are the Central Florida Knights.
- The Miami Hurricanes will be starting their camp a week earlier than usual to build up a chemistry on the field.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Oddsmakers are currently making their projections for the 2019 college football season. Among those teams are the Florida State Seminoles, Florida Gators, South Florida Bulls, Central Florida Knights, FIU Panthers, and Florida Atlantic Owls. Each of these six Florida colleges are expected to have better seasons than last year.
The Central Florida Knights
The football team at UCF has been given the highest number of wins for the season out of any other Florida college team. The Central Florida Knights are projected to win 10 games with 5/4 odds of winning in the AAC. However, quarterback Darriel Mack Jr has sustained a broken ankle recently and will not be participating in training camp.
This puts the Knights in a time crunch to fill the spot of quarterback now that their starter will be out. Transfer Brandon Wimbush will be the most likely face you’ll see on the field when the season begins. UCF will have their first game against the Florida A&M Rattlers on August 29th at 7:30 pm ET. CBSS will be televising the game.
The Florida Gators
The Florida Gators have an expected 9 wins for the season ahead. UF’s odds to win the SEC title are 14/1. Their record last season was 10-3 under their new head coach Dan Mullen. While that was one of the best seasons the Gators have seen in some time, Mullen believes there is still room for improvement.
“We had a great offseason. The strides our guys took coming in, getting ready for year two, we need to take a huge step forward this year,” said Mullen during SEC Media Day. “We had a lot of success last year, but our consistency of performance is something I want to see us change to perform at a high level every single game, every single week, every single play for the consistency of our performance to continue to improve.”
UF will have their season opener against the Miami Hurricanes on August 24th at 7:00 pm ET. The game will be broadcast on the ESPN network.
The Miami Hurricanes
The Miami Hurricanes are looking at a win total of 8.5 for the 2019 season. UM has been given odds of 7/1 to win the ACC title. New head coach Manny Diaz has decided to start training camp a week earlier than what has normally been done. He is hoping the extra week of practices will benefit his new squad. The Hurricanes will have their first game on August 24th against the Florida Gators at 7:00 pm ET. The game will be aired on the ESPN network.
Florida Atlantic Owls
FAU has a projected 8 wins for the new season. The Florida Atlantic Owls have 7/2 odds of winning the Conference USA title. The football team went 5-7 last year. FAU has acquired transfer wide receiver Chris Herring from the Crimson Tide. Herring is eligible to start playing immediately and could be a big help on the field for the Owls. FAU will have their first game on August 31st at 12:00 pm ET against the Ohio State Buckeyes. The FOX network will be airing the match.
FIU Panthers
The FIU Panthers have a projected season win total of 7.5 for their upcoming season. FIU has 9/2 odds to win the Conference USA title. Last year, the Panthers held a record of 9-4. The season opener for Florida International University will be against the Tulane Green Wave on August 29th at 8:00 pm ET. The game will be televised by the ESP3 channel.
The Florida State Seminoles
SportsBettingFlorida.com agrees that the Florida State Seminoles had one of their worst seasons in 2018 under new head coach Willie Taggart. It was the first time in almost 40 years that they did not make it to a Bowl game. They finished the 2018 season with a 5-7 record. The Seminoles are projected to win 7.5 games this season.
“We’re playing some of the same teams. We’re playing Clemson, N.C. State, Miami. It’s kind of tough to say it’s an easier schedule when we haven’t played it yet,” said Taggart at a Seminoles Booster event. “It’s hard for me to say it’s easier. We can’t worry about all those things. We just have to worry about us and get back to playing Florida State football.”
FSU’s odds of winning the ACC title are 20/1. FSU’s season starts on August 31st at 7:00 pm ET against the Boise State Broncos. The game will be televised on the ESPN network.