Florida Football: Picking Every 2012 Game on the Board Against the Spread

Sin City, a city that popped up in the middle of the desert offering an escape from ordinary life and tempted Americans with the chance to live like a rock star, if only for a long weekend.

Las Vegas has become synonymous with gambling and the folks over at the Golden Nugget casino thought they would get a head start on the 2012 college football season. 

With more than two month to go until the college football season kicks off, the Golden Nugget has already released their early lines on a select number of games. 

If I were a gambling man, this would be a good time to take advantage of some lines that may end up changing as we find out more about these teams. The Gators have flown under the radar of the national media and now is a good time to take advantage of that. 

Let's take a look at the lines that have been released and pick against the spread. 

September 1, at Texas A&M (Pick 'Em)

In betting terms, this game is too close to handicap. 

Gator fans feel otherwise. 

Texas A&M is bringing in a new coach, breaking in a new quarterback and moving to a new conference. Expect the Aggies to go through some growing pains in the SEC and to face some of the same struggles that the Gators did in 2011. 

Both the Gators and Aggies play tune up games in week one so we won't learn too much about where they are, but week two should tell us a lot. 

The game has had some hype build up as both head coaches have exchanged words through the media. Even the mayor of College Station, Nancy Berry, got in on the action in a video released by her office. 

In the end, the Gators will come out on top and the Aggies will lose their first SEC game. The crowd at Kyle Field will be ready to go but the football team is not ready for the SEC quite yet. 

September 8, at Tennessee (Gators -5)

The Gators come into Knoxville as the favorites and for good reason. Florida has owned this series recently, going 16-6 since 1990 including a current seven-game winning streak. During that streak the Gators have outscored the Vols 213-106. 

The Gators will face a young, tough Tennessee team that will be hungry to end the streak and show that they are ready to return to the top of the eastern division. 

However the last time the Gators were in Knoxville they came away with a 31-17 victory.

Tennessee doesn't have the running game necessary to keep Florida's defense honest and the Gators should be able to pressure Tyler Bray and create some turnovers. Expect the Gators to play suffocating defense and come away with their eighth consecutive victory against the Vols and to cover the spread while they're at it. 

October 6, LSU (Gators +7)

If you are a fan of offense and high scoring back and forth games then you may want to skip this one. 

Florida and LSU will have two of the best defenses in the country this season but are both inexperienced at quarterback and unproven offensively. 

The Gators could pull off an upset at home against LSU but will struggle to put up points against that talented defense. 

The safe money is on LSU to win and cover the spread but I wouldn't be surprised if the Gators kept this game close in the Swamp. 

October 20, South Carolina (Gators -3.5)

The Gators are favored in this game despite losing the past two games against South Carolina. 

In 2010 Marcus Lattimore carried the ball an astonishing 40 times for 212 yards in a 36-14 win in Gainesville. Lattimore missed the game in 2011, but Spurrier's team still ran the ball 52 times for 215 yards in a 17-12 victory at home. 

It remains to be seen how Lattimore will bounce back from ACL surgery, but if he is healthy you can be sure Spurrier will run him until he can't run anymore. 

The Gators need to be physical up front and try to slow Lattimore down. If the Gators can slow down the running attack and force Connor Shaw to win the game with his arm they will win outright. Regardless, the home crowd and an improved Florida team should be able to keep this close and cover the spread in this game. 

October 27, Georgia (Gators +4.5)

*UPSET ALERT*

The national media is drinking the Georgia Kool-Aid but I'm not convinced. 

The Gators, in their worst season in 40 years, gave the game away last season. Florida should have beat Georgia in the 2011 version of the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party and they will not let it happen again. 

No matter what Will Muschamp says leading up to this game, when you coach against your alma mater there is a little extra meaning for you. Muschamp will have this team ready to play come the last weekend in October and the Gators will not let another one slip away. 

The Gators will not only cover the spread but they will win the game as well. 

November 3, Missouri (Gators -5.5)

Much of the hype surrounding Mizzou comes from the commitment of Dorial Green-Beckham. The consensus No.1 receiver in the class of 2012 has sky high expectations for his freshman campaign. 

The Gators will benefit from a home crowd and their defense will once again prove to be too tough for their opponent. 

The Gators will cover the spread in this one, but Mizzou will be a good matchup for years to come in the SEC East. 

November 24, at Florida State (Gators +7.5)

In what has become the "battle for bragging rights at the summer home," Jimbo Fisher's Seminoles got the best of Muschamp's Gators last year, 21-7. 

The Gators couldn't muster any offense but held the Noles to just 95 yards of offense. 

Expect the game to be another low scoring defensive affair but the Gators will cover the 7.5 point spread. 

I won't go as far to predict a win, but the game will be a hard fought, physical, defensive battle. Points will be hard to come by and the crowd will not make things easy for the Gators. 

Let me know in the comments below if you will be placing any wagers this season and how you think the Gators will fare against their opponents and against Vegas.

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