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UCF at Florida Gators Betting Line Takes a Big Swing

Over the last few days the betting line for the UCF Knights at Florida Gators has changed drastically.

Kyle Lander

Billy Napier and his Florida Gators are a home underdog to the UCF Knights.
Billy Napier and his Florida Gators are a home underdog to the UCF Knights. / Matt Bush-Imagn Images
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New week, same story for the Florida Gators as they head into their matchup against the UCF Knights this weekend as underdogs despite the game being played on home soil. 

What was once a fortress, Ben Hill Griffin seems to not have the same effect on its opponents nowadays. This may not be the fans' fault, but either way, the home crowd advantage the Gators once had has since diminished. In this season alone, they have only been the favorites at home once and that was against Samford. 

And this trend has continued into Week Six with the Gators being tabbed as +2.5 underdogs to the Knights. 

Although, the Gators were the early favorites. On Sunday, the Hard Rock Betting app had the opening spread at -2.5 in favor of the Gators. One of the main reasons for this is due to the unofficial three points regularly given to the home team. However, by Sunday night, it moved to just one point in their favor. 

Then, as we now see, Vegas has completely flipped the script and has the Knights as the favorite.

It seems much of this early trust in the Gators was due to the rough week the Knights had at home against Colorado. The Knights were expected to walk out of Orlando with a win over the Buffaloes, but fell way short of expectations as they were blown out 48-21. 

As for the Gators, they were on a bye week resting up over the weekend and preparing for their Week 6 opponents. This includes some of their players attending the UCF game over the weekend. 

One of these players was starting cornerback Jason Marshall Jr.

“I was out there scouting, seeing what the team was like, tempo of the game, things like that,” Marshall Jr. said. 

Outside of just the scheduling for each team though, another aspect that could be impacting the lines is the availability report. The Gators won’t be releasing one most likely due to them not being required to. This isn’t a conference game for the Gators, and there is no rule stating they have to release availability for non-conference games. 

For the line to move this drastically in the last few days, a lot of money has come in on the Knights? Does the new money know something we don't?

One thing we do know, is if this plays out how Vegas has it, this could potentially be the final week for Billy Napier in Gainesville. 

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.

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Kyle Lander
KYLE LANDER

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