The Gators will look to close out a strong regular season with a win in a rivalry matchup when No. 8 Florida (9-2) hosts the Florida State Seminoles on Saturday. The Gators found an answer at quarterback when Kyle Trask took over in Week 4, and they were dreaming of moving into the College Football Playoff picture. They couldn't get past LSU or Georgia, but they are 9-2 and still playing for a New Year's Six bowl. The Seminoles (6-5) have struggled, but interim coach Odell Haggins has navigated them to consecutive victories. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET in Gainesville, Fla. The Gators are 17-point favorites, while the over-under for total points is 55 in the Florida vs. Florida State odds. Before making your Florida vs. FSU picks, you need to see the college football predictions from SportsLine's top college football expert Emory Hunt.

Hunt is the founder and CEO of Football Gameplan, which has been supplying analysis for all levels of football since 2007, and he is a former running back at Louisiana-Lafayette. He knows the game from a player's and coach's perspective. 

The football analyst is enjoying another strong year for SportsLine members and enters this week with an incredible 93-54 record on his college football picks for the 2019 season, returning a profit of almost $3,500 to his followers. In addition, he has had an uncanny sense for projecting the fortunes of the Seminoles, hitting on 13 of his last 15 college football picks involving FSU. Anyone who has followed him is way up.

Now, he has closely analyzed Florida State vs. Florida. We can tell you Hunt is leaning under, but his stronger play is on the spread. In fact, Hunt has found a critical factor that has him going big on one side of the spread. You can go to SportsLine to see it. Now, here are the betting lines and trends for Florida State vs. Florida:

  • Florida State vs. Florida spread: Gators -17
  • Florida State vs. Florida over-under: 55
  • Florida State vs. Florida money line: Gators -1200, Seminoles +710
  • UF: Gators have topped 400 yards of offense in 10 of their last 15 games.
  • FSU: WR Tamorrion Terry averages 46.4 yards on 16 career TD catches.

Hunt is aware that the Gators are 12-4 against the spread in their last 16 games following a straight-up win, and they knocked off Missouri 23-6 before a bye week. Trask is completing 66.8 percent of his passes, and he has a bevy of targets to help. Tight end Kyle Pitts has a team-high 46 receptions for 566 yards. Five receivers have a catch of at least 60 yards, and Van Jefferson (38 receptions), Freddie Swain (30) and Trevon Grimes (30) are the main playmakers. Running back Lamical Perine also gets involved, catching 32 passes for 179 yards while also rushing for 520, with eight total touchdowns.

The Gators are 6-2 against the spread in their last eight non-conference games, and Hunt knows the Seminoles could struggle to move the ball. The UF defense is in the top 25 in the nation in both passing (193.0) and rushing (110.5) yards allowed per game. Jonathan Greenard and Jabari Zuniga are elite defenders, and Amari Burney and Shawn Davis also make plays. Greenard has six sacks, an interception and a fumble recovery and Davis has three interceptions, while Zuniga has three sacks and is a disruptive force. The secondary has also played a big part for a defense that has 15 interceptions, led by Donovan Stiner with four, and Marco Wilson has three

The Gators have talent all over the field, but that doesn't mean they will cover the Florida vs. Florida State spread on Saturday.

Hunt also knows that the road team is 7-1 against the spread in the last eight Florida vs. FSU matchups. Running back Cam Akers missed the previous game with a toe injury, but is expected to be ready. He has run for 1,042 yards and 13 touchdowns and added 223 yards and four scores as a receiver. The Seminoles have even worked him into a wildcat formation at times to get the ball in his hands. Quarterback James Blackman has thrown for 1,945 yards and 16 scores in eight starts

So who wins Florida State vs. Florida? And what critical factor makes one side of the spread a must-back? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Florida State vs. Florida you should jump on Saturday, all from the seasoned expert who is 13-2 on FSU picks, and find out.