Florida vs. South Carolina: Gators installed as 3.5-point favorites

Florida has lost its last two games against South Carolina, and has struggled to throw the ball in its last two contests in 2012. That hasn't stopped Las Vegas from installing the Gators as 3.5-point favorites over South Carolina in Saturday's showdown in Gainesville.

Adam Kramer brings the line, which is from BetOnline, without comment. (The really funny line from this week is Vanderbilt being favored by eight points at home against Auburn.) I think it's a decent line, designed to draw South Carolina money: if you think that the Gamecocks, who lost to a team Florida beat by eight points at home, are going to be within a field goal after the final whistle on Saturday, you're betting on them. If you were going to bet on Florida, you would probably have done that regardless of the line; if you were a smart bettor on Florida, you were probably safe as long as it was under a touchdown.

But Florida's the far more public team, so there could be a lot of money coming in on the Gators, which could force the line up, which could create a perception of value for South Carolina bettors. Vegas ain't dumb.

I'd expect this line to end up pretty close to 3.5 by Saturday, unless Florida's injuries — Will Muschamp's going to update them on Monday — are serious enough to make the Gators substantially worse.