Who Did SEC Nation Crew Pick in Florida-Ole Miss? Analyst Gives Possible Glimpse into UF Coaching Future

OXFORD, Miss.-- The Florida Gators' road game against Ole Miss, despite not being a historic rivalry, is one of the more compelling games in college football this week.

The Gators are one loss away from being ineligible for a bowl, the Rebels need a win in its quest for the College Football Playoff, and Lane Kiffin is the subject of coaching rumors for both teams.

The Rebels, to no one's surprise, are decent favorites over Florida. According to FanDuel, Ole Miss is an 11.5-point favorite.

Editor's note: Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

The SEC Nation Crew of Tim Tebow, Jordan Rodgers, Roman Harper and Paul Finebaum were all unanimous in picking Ole Miss over the Gators, in large part due to the Rebels still needing to clinch a playoff birth and Kiffin wanting revenge for last year's loss.

"Too much on the line for (Ole Miss)," Tebow, a two-time national champion at Florida, said. "It's too important to Lane, too important to this team. They cannot let this one slip."

Finebaum had his own quip on why the Gators will lose.

"This is a team sport, but I think the problem for Florida is you're going to see a lot of individual show boating," he said. "Why? I think they're all showing off for their next coach."

"Take that the way you want," host Laura Rutledge responded.

Kiffin's reported candidacy for Florida's open head coaching position has dominated the headlines leading up to Saturday's contest in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium as he continues to neither express public interest for the job or discuss his long-term future with Ole Miss.

While Florida has seen the reports and rumors regarding Kiffin and the Gators' head coaching job, interim head coach Billy Gonzales and his team are keeping their overall focus on the task ahead against the Rebels, looking to avoid the program's second season without a bowl in three years and fourth losing season in five years.

"From my standpoint, don't look back. Don't look back at the past, and really for me, don't even look into the future," Gonzales said. "We're day by day right now, and that's the biggest thing for us, we're day by day. Put our feet in the ground, put our cleats in the dirt, and let's go play football, and again, concentrate on the day that we have in front of us. So that's been the big focus for us."

Kickoff between the Gators and Rebels is at 7 p.m. with television coverage on ESPN.

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