No. 1 Florida Huge Favorites At Home Over Arkansas

NFL News - October 15th, 2009 - Written by Scott

After a hard fought win against then No. 4 LSU, the top ranked Florida Gators will look to extend their nation leading fifteen game winning streak against Arkansas. Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow was back against the Tigers after suffering a concussion against Kentucky. He did not do anything spectacular against LSU, but managed the game effectively in an offense that appeared to be playing conservatively. This will need to change this weekend as the Razorbacks bring an offense that can put points on the board. Arkansas (3-2,1-2) is coming off their 44-23 win over Auburn last weekend. This could be a good time for the Razorbacks to play the Gators as Florida is coming off an emotional win and could be in line for a possible letdown against Arkansas.

Tebow is leading the Gators' offense, which averaging 284 yards on the ground and 486 total yards per game, very effectively this season. He has not put up the Heisman numbers that everyone expected, but has done enough to keep his team undefeated. Tebow has passed for 777 yards and 7 touchdowns, but more importantly, he has rushed for 390 yards and 4 touchdowns. He is the second leading rusher on the team behind Jeffery Demps. Demps, Chris Rainey, and Emmanuel Moody have combined for 1,092 yards and 6 touchdowns. Tebow has his two favorite targets in Riley Cooper and Aaron Hernandez and they have combined for 543 yards and 5 touchdowns.

The Gators' defense has been strong all season, but has really come alive over their past two games. Against Kentucky and LSU, they gave up only an average of 10 points per game and 170 yards, and recorded 8 sacks. They will need to perform this way against Arkansas, a team that can move the ball up and down the field. For the year, they are holding their opponents to just 202 yards per game.

The Razorbacks have just one game in which they have not scored more than 40 points. They are averaging 37 points a game and are led by quarterback Ryan Mallett. Mallett has passed for 1,422 yards and 13 touchdowns. They will need to follow up with their rushing performance last week (274 yards) to not allow Florida to sit back and defend the pass. Michael Smith leads the Razorbacks with 325 yards and 2 touchdowns. Arkansas has 3 big playmakers at wide receiver in Greg Childs, Jarius White, and Joe Adams. They have combined for 989 yards and 8 touchdowns.

The Razorbacks defense need to come into this game prepared for anything. Last week's conservative play calling by the Gators could very well be seen again this weekend as the Gators try to protect Tebow from further injury. They played well against Auburn last week and should bring the same type of effort against Florida.

Betus sportsbook has the Gators favored by 24 1/2 over the Razorbacks in the Swamp on Saturday. The over/under for this game is set at 24 1/2.

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