Florida Gators vs. USF Bulls: Info, Odds, Where to Watch and More
Before their first road test of the Billy Napier era in Week 4, the No. 18 Florida Gators (1-1) have a chance to get right, heavily favored in their third home contest in a row against the USF Bulls (1-1) on Saturday, following a Week 2 upset in The Swamp against Kentucky.
You can find everything you need to know about the matchup below.
No. 18 Florida Gators vs. USF Bulls
Where: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Fla.
When: Saturday, Sept. 17 at 7:30 P.M. ET
Watch: ESPN | fuboTV (start your free trial)
Weather: 80°, 72 percent humidity, partly cloudy with a nine percent chance of rain at kickoff, per Weather.com.
Radio: Gators IMG Sports Network, Sirius Channel: 158 or 192
Odds: Florida is viewed as a 24-point favorite over USF, according to the Sports Illustrated Sportsbook. The over/under is set at 58 points.
Series history: Florida leads, 2-0. The Gators defeated the Bulls by a score of 42-20 in Tampa, Fla. when the programs last met on Sept. 11, 2021.
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- Gators rule out three starters vs. Bulls; full injury report
- Key matchups to watch
- Gators' X-Factor: LBs Scooby Williams and Shemar James
- Gators raving about rookie RB Trevor Etienne: "This is going to be special"
- UF names Week 3 captains
- Billy Napier breaks down Florida's "running back by committee"
- CB Jaydon Hill inching closer to return
- Perception vs. perspective: Gators aim to "evolve" after Kentucky loss
The rundown
After shocking the world with an upset victory over Utah on Sept. 3, the Gators came back down to Earth last Saturday with a 10-point defeat to the Wildcats to open their SEC schedule.
They'll have a chance to rebound within the conference at Tennessee a week from now, but first, the Bulls march into Gainesville to complete a home-and-home series between the Sunshine State squads.
Napier and USF head coach Jeff Scott have a history that dates back roughly two decades. Napier was a graduate assistant at Clemson under former offensive coordinator Brad Scott, Jeff's father, for the two seasons following the younger Scott's career with the Tigers. Napier and Jeff Scott reunited at Clemson as assistant coaches from 2008-10.
"Very familiar with Jeff Scott," Napier said on Monday. "Jeff's a bright young coach, and his team is playing extremely hard. You can see the effort. You can see the toughness, the Week 1 to 2 improvement, certainly some of the changes they made on the staff from a defensive standpoint."
While Napier is complimentary of this Bulls team, the talent gap is clear between the SEC and American conference programs. After struggling offensively against the Wildcats, quarterback Anthony Richardson should have no issue moving the ball and scoring against the No. 93 scoring defense and No. 126 team defense in the FBS.
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