ESPN's Prediction for Florida Gators vs. Tulane Green Wave

In 10 days time, the Florida Gators will take on the Tulane Green Wave in the Gasparilla Bowl. This old-age SEC matchup will take place for the first time since 1984 and for the first time in a bowl game. 

ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg released his score predictions for bowl season. He likes the Gators' chances over Tulane. 

He likes them for a few key reasons. One is the strong finish that included a dominant showing on defense. He also doesn’t like Tulane’s performance against more quality competition and the apparent absence of their starting quarterback. 

“Florida players and fans normally wouldn't be excited about a non-CFP bowl in mid-December, but the program's heartening finish under coach Billy Napier, coupled with a good recruiting push, has improved the vibes significantly. A really exciting quarterback matchup between Florida's DJ Lagway and Tulane's Darian Mensah took a hit as Mensah is reportedly set to enter the transfer portal. Tulane's late-season struggles against improved competition (Memphis, Army) are concerning, too, especially with Florida's defense allowing only 44 total points in its final three games. Give me the Gators.” 

His score prediction: Florida 31, Tulane 17

Since he mentioned recruiting, it couldn’t hurt to point out that the Gators managed to find themselves with the 11th-best recruiting class after being ranked in the 40s in early November. But obviously, that doesn’t impact the bowl, so we’ll leave it at that. 

The Gators are all in on winning this bowl game. Even seniors, such as Elijhah Badger, are choosing to play instead of opting out. 

Florida is considered the favorite according to the betting odds and the analytics. ESPNBet lists the Gators as 13.5-point favorites and ESPN Analytics gives them a 54.3% chance to win. 

Should this be the case, it would make for a nice dominant finish to a redemption run that puts them in a favorable spot for greater heights in 2025. 

The Gasparilla Bowl will take place on Friday, Dec. 20. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. 

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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