Florida football odds: Gators favored at Mississippi State in rare spot during 2024 season

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Image Credit: UAA / Chris Kim

The 2024 season has already been an unmitigated disaster for the Florida Gators. Sitting at 1-2 (0-1 SEC) with a dead-man-walking head coach in Billy Napier, Florida has already been an underdog twice at home inside the supposed-to-be-friendly confines of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. It may be somewhat surprising, then, that the second time the Gators will be favored this season actually comes in a road spot.

Florida opened as a 6-point favorite at Mississippi State this week; that number actually came down to -4.5 shortly after open, but it has come back to -6.5 with 48 hours until kickoff. While the Gators have certainly bucked odds throughout Napier’s tenure — losing games even when they were significant favorites entering — this week’s spread likely speaks to the struggles the Bulldogs are facing.

Mississippi State has similarly opened 1-2 with consecutive losses to Arizona State and Toledo, the latter at home. MSU does not have the same murderer’s row schedule as UF, but it does follow Saturday’s game with its toughest tests of the year: road contests at Texas and Georgia with an off week in between.

That makes the Florida game a must-win for Mississippi State. Of course, it is also a must-win for the Gators if there is any opportunity at all to salvage a respectable season. Florida is 34-19-2 all-time against Mississippi State with an 11-11 record in Starkville, Mississippi. The Gators have won consecutive road matchups, 13-6 in 2018 and 29-19 in 2009.

Whether Florida will be favored in any future games this season likely depends, in part, on Saturday’s result. The Gators may be slight home favorites against UCF after UF’s first bye week, but it will assuredly be significant underdogs at Tennessee after that.

After that, Florida will face the Kentucky Wildcats in a matchup that promises to be intriguing given the way both teams have started the season. A local sportsbook promo can enhance your experience if you’re looking to add stakes to that game.

That is how the Gators’ schedule looks ahead of its second off week, at which time, the team may look immensely different from the one taking the field Saturday — at least on the sidelines.