Florida Gators quarterback DJ Lagway throws the ball against the Long Island Sharks during the first half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. (Matt Pendleton/Imagn Images)

Florida Opens as Double-Digit Favorite Against USF

As the page turns to the second week of the college football season, the Florida Gators will start to prepare for the USF Bulls next Saturday.

Fresh off its 34-7 win over No.25 Boise State, USF will make the short two-hour drive up I-75 into Gainesville for the first time since 2022. The Bulls nearly pulled off a stunning upset then; at one point holding a 28-24 fourth quarter lead, before inevitably falling 31-28.

Now USF coach Alex Golesh will get his second shot at the Gators but will do so as big underdogs Saturday. Florida opens as -18.5-point favorites over USF, with the over/under total set at 52.5, according to Fanduel.

This will be just the fourth time these two schools will have played each other in history, with Florida leading the all-time series 3-0. Even so, the Gators still want to carry the same mentality regardless of the opponent and play their best brand of football.

“Same approach as we had versus LIU,” Gators linebacker Myles Graham said postgame. “Same approach, just play Gator football. Play our best brand of football. No matter who it is, whoever steps into The Swamp, we’re going to spot the ball and we’re going to play.” Similar to LIU, Florida will prepare for another dual-threat quarterback in USF’s Byrum Brown. Against Boise State, Brown was 16-for-24 for 210 yards through the air and carried the ball 14 times for 43 yards and two touchdowns.

Florida’s defense played at another level Saturday night, not only shutting out LIU but limiting them to 86 total yards and two first downs while committing zero defensive penalties and forcing two turnovers, including Bryce Thornton’s scoop-and-score.

“I thought we were assignment sound and pursued the ball inside out and in general,” Florida coach Billy Napier said postgame. “Look, we’re going to be tested in the future, so it’s a good start, but obviously we got work to do as a team to turn this thing around and get ready for a really good South Florida team.”

Category: College Football, Feature Sports News, Gators Football, SEC, USF