FSU football: Noles near touchdown betting favorites over Florida Gators

Rivalry week doesn’t feel the same as FSU football will travel to face the Florida Gators in the regular season finale. Both teams lost their starting quarterback Saturday night.

FSU was originally near -12 point betting favorites over the Gators before Jordan Travis got hurt to end his season and FSU career. The new betting line with Travis and Florida QB Graham Mertz (fractured collarbone) out is about -6.5, with an over/under points total of 51.

Those odds imply a 29-22 victory for the Noles. The Noles will play redshirt junior Tate Rodemaker, who played the majority of the game in the absence of Jordan Travis against North Alabama.

Florida will play freshman Max Brown, who played in the absence of Mertz against Missouri on Saturday.

It would be an understatement to say both offenses will look different when the two teams match up Saturday night in the Swamp.

What I know is that FSU football has a much better defense, and has faced quarterbacks similar to Brown a few times this year. FSU hasn’t allowed more than 24 points in a game all season, and it’ll come down to how well FSU’s offense can execute without Jordan Travis.

We saw Tate Rodemaker come into a game last year against a much better Louisville defense to go 6 of 10 for 109 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. He looked fine against FCS North Alabama once he settled in after the Jordan Travis injury.

However, the Swamp at night is a different environment. Interestingly enough, Rodemaker got to play in the Swamp in an afternoon game in the 2021 season when Jordan Travis had to leave with an injury before returning.

It’ll be interesting to see how Florida looks to defend and how FSU will choose to attack.

FSU has a lot of offensive weapons at its disposal, and Florida’s secondary is leaky. Be sure to stay tuned to Chop Chat for more coverage and analysis.