- Florida is a 2.5-point favorite at Auburn for Saturday’s Southeastern Conference opener between two 2-0 teams.
- Jon Sumrall and Alex Golesh both make their first SEC start as head coaches this weekend.
- Florida averages 569 yards a game, fifth among SEC offenses, while Auburn’s 501 ranks eighth.
- Florida’s last win at Auburn came in 1999, and the Gators have visited only three times since, the last in 2011.
AUBURN, Ala. – Florida is a 2.5-point favorite at Auburn at -110 on both Bovada and BetOnline for Saturday’s Southeastern Conference opener, a true road number for two 2-0 teams and two first-year coaches, Jon Sumrall and Alex Golesh, in the week’s featured game on the college football props board.
A True Road Favorite For A True Road Team
Florida is favored by 2.5 points at Auburn at -110 on both Bovada and BetOnline, with the Gators’ moneyline at -135 and Auburn’s at +115 on each book. Both books leveled the spread’s price this week. Florida -2.5 cost -115 at Bovada and -116 at BetOnline before the move, and each book now charges -110 on either side. A bettor taking Auburn and the 2.5 points now pays more to do it than one who bet earlier in the week, even though the number itself hasn’t moved.
The moneyline tells a similar story. Bovada had Florida at -130 and BetOnline at -138 earlier in the week, and both books have since converged on -135, with Auburn’s underdog price settling at +115 on each.
The number leans on production more than location. Florida averages 569 yards a game, fifth among SEC offenses, and gives up 301, 12th in the league. Auburn’s 501 yards a game places eighth in the conference, and the 328 it allows sits 14th.
Florida built that average against Florida Atlantic and Campbell, two non-Power opponents the Gators outscored 118-24 combined. Auburn’s 2-0 start includes a one-score win over Baylor of the Big 12 in the season-opening Aflac Kickoff.
| Market | Odds |
|---|---|
| Florida moneyline | -135 |
| Auburn moneyline | +115 |
| Florida spread | -2.5 (-110) |
| Auburn spread | +2.5 (-110) |
| Total (Bovada) | 53.5, Over -110 / Under -110 |
| Total (BetOnline) | 53.5, Over -105 / Under -115 |
The total sits at 53.5 on both books, but they split the price. Bovada holds -110 on both sides while BetOnline charges less to bet the Over (-105) and more to bet the Under (-115), so the Over is cheaper at BetOnline and the Under is cheaper at Bovada, the kind of split worth checking on the college football game totals board before locking in a number.
Two First-Year Coaches’ First SEC Test
Sumrall and Golesh both took over losing programs last winter, and Saturday marks each coach’s first Southeastern Conference game. Neither team is ranked. Florida opened with lopsided wins over Florida Atlantic (66-21) and Campbell (52-3), while Auburn edged Baylor in its opener before routing Southern Miss.
“We have a real challenge on our hands,” Sumrall said Monday, a day after Florida led Campbell 45-3 at the half and then committed seven second-half penalties in a 52-3 win he called short of the team’s standard. Golesh, who went 23-15 in three seasons rebuilding South Florida before taking the Auburn job, said Monday that Florida’s offense presents “a bunch of challenges,” crediting the play-calling of coordinator Buster Faulkner.
A Quarterback Matchup With A Recent History
In two games as Auburn’s starter, Byrum Brown, who followed Golesh from South Florida, is 44 of 64 for 485 yards with three interceptions against two touchdown passes, plus 115 rushing yards. Florida’s Aaron Philo owns the cleaner line so far, 32 of 42 for 501 yards, five touchdowns and one interception, behind a Gators offense that also leans on running back Jadan Baugh, who has three straight 100-yard games dating to last season.
Brown and Golesh already have a result against Florida on the record. Brown’s South Florida team beat the Gators 18-16 in Gainesville last season, when Brown threw for 263 yards and a touchdown, ran for 66 more, and carried three straight times in the last minute to put Nico Gramatica’s winning kick in range. Kickoff for Saturday’s rematch, at a different level of competition, is set for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN from Pat Dye Field at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
