Underdog Fantasy Week 1 CFB Picks: Our favorite higher/lower options for Florida vs. Utah
Underdog Fantasy is the place for sports fans to get in on the action this college football season!
Week 1 kicks off on Thursday night. The biggest game of the evening involves the Florida Gators traveling to Salt Lake City to take on the Utah Utes. After a thrilling Florida win in The Swamp to kick off last season, the Utes will be hungry for revenge.
Thursday evening’s game kicks off at 8 p.m. Eastern time and can be seen on ESPN.
Over at Underdog, there are ways to get in on the fun for the Florida/Utah game. Use our Underdog Fantasy Promo Code to get a first-time deposit match of up to $100:
What is Underdog and why should SEC fans care?
Underdog Fantasy is a daily fantasy (DFS) platform backed by investors such as Mark Cuban, The Chainsmokers and Kevin Durant.
Through Underdog’s fun pick’em contests, you can bundle a few selections of player prop picks, and yes, you can put real money against these picks.
Underdog Fantasy is available in 41 states. Underdog Fantasy is not available in the following states: CT, DE, HI, ID, IA, LA, MI, MT, NV.
Underdog is available in these states, but pick’em contests as we outline here are not available: AZ, MD, MO, NH, NJ, OH, PA, TN, WA, WV.
College sports pick’em contests are available in these SEC states: AL, FL, GA, KY, SC, TX.
My picks for Florida vs. Utah
Graham Mertz “higher” than 185.5 passing yards. I’m not high on Mertz’s long-term success at Florida, but I do think he’ll throw for around 200 yards in the season opener. Utah’s defense was stronger against the run than it was against the pass in 2022. I expect that to continue. And I also expect Florida to be trailing by a score in the second half, leading to more pass attempts than runs.
Montrell Johnson “lower” than 66.5 rush+receiving yards. As mentioned above, I think Utah will do a good job of stifling the Gators’ ground attack. Johnson will also be sharing work in the backfield with Trevor Etienne. Etienne is the better pass-catching option out of the backfield, so look for him to get plenty of work at the expense of Johnson.
Brant Kuithe “higher” than 34.5 receiving yards. Kuithe torched the Gators for 105 yards and a touchdown in last year’s meeting. Yes, he’s coming off a torn ACL and his status for Thursday night is in question. But if he does play, 35 receiving yards is very doable for the talented receiver.
How many picks should you make?
The more picks you string together in each contest, the higher the “multiplier” or payout. Of course, the more picks you string together, the less likely you are to win because all of the picks have to hit in order for you to cash in.
A 3-leg contest of the picks I listed above would pay out $30 on a $50 entry:
If you feel like playing it safer and only doing a 2-leg contest, I’d recommend leaving Johnson’s total out of the mix. Either way, make sure you get your picks in before kickoff on Thursday night!
Remember to use our Underdog promo code “SOUTH” to get a first-time deposit bonus of up to $100. Click here to get started!
