FSU football: Can Noles cover the spread against Gators?

FSU football will close out its regular season Saturday night against their arch rival Florida Gators. Can the Noles keep it close on the scoreboard?

FSU football will look to keep its decade long winning streak in Gainesville intact when they travel to take on the No. 11 Gators.

The Noles are double-digit underdogs to the Gators for the first time since 2009 when Tim Tebow was on their sidelines.

According to the Action Network, the Noles opened at +17.5 with over 70 percent of the bets being in favor of Florida.

Will the Noles cover the spread? It depends on who you ask and I guess how much motivation each team has going into the game.

FSU has had roughly two weeks to prepare for this game with a bye last week and playing FCS Alabama State the week prior. The Gators were off last week and played a tough Missouri team on the road a week prior.

So there’s a slight edge in preparation for the Noles. The break has allowed some players like Cam Akers to get healed up and play Saturday. It should be noted Harlon Barnett will likely continue to go back to more of what he ran last year defensively now that Willie Taggart is no longer on staff.

That seemed to be the case against Alabama State and they would have had two weeks to prepare. I still think Florida’s going to be able to move the ball, but one thing that could come into play is red zone defense.

FSU’s defense in the red zone has been pretty good all things considered. They’ve only allowed touchdowns 47 percent of the time and that number drops to 45 percent against FBS winning teams.

Florida’s offense scores touchdowns 58 percent of the time against FBS programs. FSU football scored touchdowns 66 percent against FBS winning teams.

FSU’s offense has struggled against the better defense it has faced this year. Can Jordan Travis make a difference with the packages Kendal Briles has for him?

It definitely can’t hurt to have a QB who can be a threat running and passing. The Noles held up pretty well defensively last year but seemed to wear down as the game went on because of an inept offense and playing so many snaps.

Can the offense do enough this year to give the Noles a shot to cover the spread? I have my doubts, but crazier things have happened in this series.