The Florida Gators are favored at the best online sportsbooks against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Outback Bowl on Monday, January 2nd on ABC. This is the first of four bowl betting games on January 2nd. The Gators come into this game at 8-4 but off two straight losses as they were routed by Florida State and Alabama. Iowa is also 8-4 but they have won their past three games. Let’s look at the matchup and Outback Bowl picks.
The Gators take on the Hawkeyes in the Outback Bowl on Monday, January 2nd with a start time of 1 pm Eastern on ABC.
Outback Bowl Odds at Sports Betting Sites
Florida -3, total 40.5
Florida vs. Iowa
The Gators will be looking to bounce back after getting destroyed in the SEC title game by Alabama. The Gators might get a boost if quarterback Luke Del Rio is able to return from injury. Austin Appleby has had a few good moments but he still makes far too many mistakes. The Gators will need their running game led by Jordan Scarlett to control this game. Florida has a strong defense that is 3rd in the country in passing yards allowed.
The Gators are scoring 23 points per sports betting game and allowing about 18 per contest. Florida went under in 8 of their 12 games this season.
The Hawkeyes don’t figure to throw the ball much as C.J. Beathard threw the fewest passes of any starting quarterback in the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes will look to run the ball with LeShun Daniels and Akrum Wadley, who combined for nearly 2,000 yards. Iowa also has a very good defense that shutdown Michigan earlier this season.
Iowa is averaging 27 points per game while allowing about 18 per contest. The Hawkeyes went under the total in 7 of their 12 games this season.
Game Trends
The Gators are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 neutral site games. The Gators are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games in January. The Gators are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 Bowl games. The Gators are 1-3-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall. The Gators are 0-7 ATS in their last 7 non-conference games. The Hawkeyes are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games overall. The Hawkeyes are 1-4-1 ATS at sports betting sites USA in their last 6 neutral site games.
The Over is 6-1 in the Gators last 7 vs. the Big Ten. The Under is 5-1 in the Gators last 6 games overall. The Over is 8-3 in the Gators last 11 games in January. The Over is 7-3 in the Gators last 10 Bowl games. The Under is 8-3at sports betting sites in the Hawkeyes last 11 neutral site games.
Outback Bowl Picks
How are either of these teams going to move the ball effectively? Both defenses are excellent and the passing games for both teams are suspect. We’ll look for this game to go under the total at sports betting sites USA like MyBookie sportsbook.