Gasparilla Bowl Lines | The Florida Gators flipped a switch down the stretch, turning a disappointing 4-5 start into a 7-5 finish and returning to bowl eligibility after a year in the dark. They face the AAC runners-up, the 9-4 Tulane Green Wave.
The line initially opened at Florida -9.5, and it has expanded significantly since then due to the Tulane quarterback situation.
The Gators have freshman quarterback DJ Lagway all set to continue a strong second half to the season; he has gone 5-1 as the starter, throwing for 1,610 yards and 11 touchdown passes with seven interceptions.
Tulane lost their starting quarterback, Darian Mensah, via the transfer portal after the Green Wave took a 35-14 beating at the hands of Army in the AAC Championship.
Ty Thompson, Tulane’s backup, has entered the transfer portal, but his coaches allow him to play to provide a competent signal-caller and boost his resume. Despite only going 6 of 11 for 74 yards this season, he has run for 243 yards and scored six times.
The Gators are expected to perform better this time around than under head coach Billy Napier’s first bowl game at Florida, which was a 30-3 loss to Oregon State in the Las Vegas Bowl two years ago.
NCAAF Gasparilla Bowl Lines: Gasparilla Bowl Tulane Green Wave vs Florida Gators
NCAAF Odds: Florida -13.5 / O/U 49.5
When: Friday, December 20, 2024, 3:30 pm ET
Where: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL
TV: ESPN2
Radio: No National Broadcast
Live Stream: Hulu
Gasparilla Bowl Lines, Final Score and Prediction
For Florida, tailback Montrell Johnson Jr has also picked up his game in recent weeks, hitting at least 90 rushing yards in three of the Gators’ last four games.
The loss of Mensah means that Tulane’s offense will likely struggle to move the ball. Lagway and the Florida offense have looked more than solid since the freshman quarterback returned to the starting lineup, and it’s not like Tulane has an SEC-qualify defense.
I predict a final score of Florida 34, Tulane 13.
^Why should you bet on the Green Wave?
Tulane finished with two regular-season losses, but they made it to the AAC title game for the third straight year. They had rolled off eight wins in a row before dropping those last two.
Florida has lost two of their key defensive players to the transfer portal – Jack Pyburn and T.J. Searcy.
The Green Wave hasn’t lost much of their high-octane offense despite losing head coach Willie Fritz to the Houston Cougars last off-season, and they could find plenty of room to operate against the Gators.
Welcome to Uptown, @JudeMccoskey_!#UptownFootball pic.twitter.com/GefK0zFY76
— Tulane Football (@GreenWaveFB) December 18, 2024
Also, it’s not like the Green Wave are new to high-level bowl opposition, as they stopped USC two years ago.
They are in the top ten in the nation with a 62.6% rush rate, and the Gators allowed the second-most rushing attempts per game among SEC teams – and the third-most rushing yards.
Pyburn notched 60 tackles on the year, so losing him to the transfer portal should make Tulane’s running game even stronger.
^Why should you put your money on the Gators?
The Gators took down Florida State in dominant fashion to end their regular season, but they’ll face a tougher foe in Tulane.
The Gators should benefit from the departure of Mensah to the transfer portal, but Thompson’s rushing abilities will still remain something that the Gators need to watch.
Florida’s three-game winning streak included takedowns of ranked opponents LSU and Ole Miss before the laugher over Florida State.
Lagway’s only loss as a starting quarterback came against Georgia, and that was the game that sent him to the locker room early with a leg injury.
Bowl Prep 🏈 pic.twitter.com/dCeubpwpBs
— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) December 18, 2024
Tulane had four losses – three against ranked oppositions and two in their two games against Power Five competition.
The Green Wave did win nine games, but only four of them came against teams with winning records.
Their only quality win was a 35-0 shutdown of Navy, but the Midshipmen were missing their starting quarterback in that showdown.
^Xbet NCAA Football Odds for the Game
Gasparilla Bowl Lines for Tulane Green Wave vs Florida Gators
Love betting Football? | Xbet Sportsbook offers up to date NCAAF Odds for 2024/25 Season
