The Gators Beat Texas, Have the Week Off, and I Have Leftover Queso

Hi! Marina again, still filling in on the Friday bets while Kevin is in the Douro Valley. Last week I said I wasn't going to tell him what happened in Gainesville. This week I texted him the final score before the clock even hit zero. I have no idea what time it was in Portugal. I do not care.

Same deal as always: I don't have a system. I have a snack table, and the snack table is undefeated in vibes this week.

Lines are DraftKings via ESPN, pulled Friday at 8:51 a.m. ET. They will move. Rankings are this week's AP poll. This is entertainment, not a tip sheet and not advice.

Our team first

Florida 27, No. 7 Texas 24. In Austin. In front of 103,989 people. As a 13.5-point underdog at the close.

Texas went up 17-3 early in the second quarter, partly thanks to a 63-yard punt return, and I'll be honest, I started wrapping the queso. Then Tramell Jones Jr. hit Lacota Dippre for a touchdown with 18 seconds left in the half, hit him again in the third quarter to tie it, Patrick Durkin kicked a 28-yarder for the lead, and Jadan Baugh ran it in from 11 out with 6:22 left. Baugh finished with 91 yards on 25 carries. Florida didn't turn it over once. Texas scored late to make it close and I made a noise my neighbor asked about.

I made a whole pot of queso for a noon game in Austin, and for once I got to eat it happy.

The Gators are back in the poll at No. 20, they're 5-2, and if you took my loyalty pick last week, Florida +11.5 and the +340 moneyline both cashed. I would like that on my tombstone.

Florida is off this Saturday. Next up is No. 5 Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 31, 3:30 p.m., ABC, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The early line is Georgia -10.5, O/U 56.5, moneyline Gators +320, Bulldogs -410. It opened Georgia -12.5 with a 53.5 total, so the market noticed Austin too. Halloween, a rivalry game and a bye week to plan the menu. I'm already thinking about it more than I should.

The other Florida teams

• Pitt at No. 1 Miami, Saturday noon, ESPN, Hard Rock Stadium. Miami -19.5, O/U 48.5. The Hurricanes are 6-0 and No. 1 after surviving FSU 43-35 in double overtime last week. This opened at 23.5 and came down four points, probably because everybody watched how long that FSU game took. Croquetas and a café con leche for a noon kick.
• No. 2 BYU at UCF, Saturday 3:30 p.m., Fox, the Bounce House. BYU -7, O/U 43.5, moneyline UCF +220. UCF is 3-3, BYU is 6-0 after beating Notre Dame 28-24. This opened BYU -9.5 and the Knights have been getting money all week. UCF +7 is the one I actually like on the whole board. A Big 12 home dog at 3:30 on a Saturday in Orlando, with a Cuban sandwich in one hand. Come on.
• Rice at FAU, Saturday noon, ESPNU. FAU -8.5, O/U 52.5. The Owls are 4-2 and got run over 56-24 at Army last week. The total opened at 58.5 and dropped six points. Rice is 1-6.
• FSU (3-4), USF (5-2, beat Kent State 29-2 last week) and Florida are all off. FIU already played Tuesday and lost 26-23 to Middle Tennessee.

The rest of the ranked board

All Saturday. No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Notre Dame, No. 5 Georgia, No. 17 Wake Forest, No. 20 Florida and No. 22 Missouri are off.

Noon

• No. 6 Indiana at Michigan, Fox: Indiana -7.5, O/U 42.5
• No. 8 Texas Tech at Cincinnati, FS1: Texas Tech -11.5, O/U 56.5
• No. 18 LSU at Auburn, ABC: LSU -7, O/U 51.5
• Cal at No. 23 SMU, CW: SMU -18.5, O/U 55.5
• Rutgers at No. 24 Northwestern, Peacock: Northwestern -16.5, O/U 58.5

3:30 p.m.

• Michigan State at No. 9 UCLA, CBS: UCLA -14.5, O/U 43.5
• No. 11 Tennessee at South Carolina, ESPN: South Carolina -2.5, O/U 50.5
• Texas A&M at No. 13 Alabama, ABC: Alabama -13.5, O/U 50.5
• No. 15 Iowa at Minnesota, FS1: Iowa -7, O/U 40.5

Night

• No. 21 Boise State at Washington State, 6 p.m., USA Network: Boise State -13.5, O/U 53.5
• No. 7 Ole Miss at No. 19 Texas, 7:30 p.m., ABC: Texas -3.5, O/U 53.5
• Vanderbilt at No. 12 Kentucky, 7:30 p.m., SEC Network: Kentucky -10.5, O/U 52.5
• No. 16 USC at Wisconsin, 7:30 p.m., NBC: USC -3, O/U 50.5
• Iowa State at No. 25 Arizona, 7:30 p.m., ESPN2: Arizona -10, O/U 51.5
• No. 14 Houston at No. 10 Utah, 10:15 p.m., ESPN: Utah -6.5, O/U 56.5

The wildest move on the board: Alabama opened -2.5 against Texas A&M and now sits at -13.5. Eleven points in a week. I don't know what happened in College Station and I'm scared to ask. Meanwhile Texas opened 9.5 over Ole Miss and has slid all the way to 3.5, which I'm choosing to believe is our fault.

Tennessee opened as a 2.5-point favorite in Columbia and now South Carolina is giving 2.5. That's the Gamecocks team that beat us by 19, so I'm staying out of it emotionally and putting my energy into Nashville hot chicken instead. And Houston-Utah went from a 50.5 total to 56.5, the kind of late game where you want a second tray of wings in the oven by halftime.

Last week's tickets

Honesty hour. The safe-ish two-leg (Notre Dame -10.5, Oklahoma -6.5) lost both legs. The medium three-leg died on Indiana +3.5, which lost by four. Of course.

But the fun long shot? Gators moneyline, Tennessee moneyline, FSU +21.5 and the Oklahoma State-Houston over 62.5. Florida won, Tennessee beat Alabama 26-10, FSU lost by eight in double overtime, and Houston and Oklahoma State put up 67. All four legs hit. At standard -110 on the spread and total legs, that's roughly a 58-to-1 payout. I did not play it. I'm going to think about that forever.

Three parlays

Safe-ish two-leg: Texas Tech -11.5 at Cincinnati + Kentucky -10.5 vs. Vanderbilt. Two favorites whose lines have barely moved since they opened. Boring on purpose.

Medium three-leg: UCF +7 + Texas -3.5 + Utah -6.5. The Knights keep it close at home, the team we just beat gets right at home, and Utah stays perfect at night in the mountains.

Fun long shot: UCF moneyline +220 + Tennessee moneyline +114 + Wisconsin moneyline +124 + Houston-Utah over 56.5. Last week this exact kind of nonsense hit, so the snack table insists. If it cashes again, I'm buying stone crab claws by the pound.

Gamble responsibly. 21+. If it stops being fun, call 1-800-GAMBLER or the Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling at 1-888-ADMIT-IT (1-888-236-4848). Entertainment only, not a guarantee.

One more thing

A bye week after a win is the best week in football. No stress, no pacing, just watching other people's teams suffer with a plate on your lap. I'm making migas tacos with the leftover queso and spending Saturday scouting Georgia like I'm on the staff.

Kevin's back in November. I've decided he can have this column back when the Gators lose again, which, after last Saturday, I'm assuming is never.

Go Gators.

— Marina