Birmingham Bowl
Legion Field - Birmingham, AL
Kickoff: Saturday, Noon ET
Line: Florida -7, Total: 56

Florida will begin life after head coach Will Muschamp when it takes on East Carolina in Saturday's Birmingham Bowl.

Here is the BetDSI Sportsbook betting preview for this matchup:

Players for Florida (6-5 ATS) will be trying to impress incoming coach Jim McElwain, but interim coach D.J. Durkin will be on the sideline for Saturday's contest. As defensive coordinator, Durkin led a unit that allowed 400-plus yards in a game just once in the past seven contests. The Gators held Florida State to 24 points and 306 yards in a 24-19 loss in the regular-season finale, intercepting Jameis Winston four times. Now they hope to make amends for their last bowl appearance two years ago, which was an embarrassing 33-23 loss to 14-point underdog Louisville in the 2013 Sugar Bowl. East Carolina (5-7 ATS) relies on QB Shane Carden and a wide-open passing attack. Carden has thrown for 300-plus yards in all but three games this season, including 427 yards in a 28-21 signature win at Virginia Tech in September. Carden also played well in last year's St. Petersburg Bowl versus Ohio University, totaling 313 yards in a 37-20 rout. Although ECU is a pathetic 3-15 ATS versus teams with winning records under head coach Ruffin McNeill, the school is also 9-1 ATS when coming off an SU loss in the past three seasons. The Pirates have some major injury concerns with RB Breon Allen (leg), DB Domonique Lennon (eligibility) and NT Terry Williams (eligibility) all doubtful for Saturday. Florida QB Treon Harris (legal problems) will likely play, but WR Andre Debose (undisclosed), DL Darious Cummings (suspension) and DL Bryan Cox Jr. (hip) are all expected to sit out this game.

Which school will capture the Birmingham Bowl? For the answer, connect to College Football Best Bets for all the StatFox Experts picks throughout the 2014-15 bowl season. StatFox Dave is heating up with a 69% ATS mark (11-5) in College Football Best Bets since Nov. 20, including 63% ATS (5-3) in bowl game Best Bets. StatFox Brian is 62% ATS (13-8) in Best Bets since Nov. 12, including 71% ATS (5-2) in bowl game Best Bets. Brian is a strong 56% ATS (18-14) in all bowl picks, while StatFox Forecaster is a stellar 61% ATS (19-12) in all bowl picks, while StatFox Scott is 67% ATS (4-2) in bowl game Best Bets.

East Carolina's offense is quite explosive, throwing for 367.3 YPG (3rd in nation) and rushing for a respectable 165.4 YPG (60th in FBS) to score a hefty 37.2 PPG (15th in nation). QB Shane Carden (4,309 pass yards, 28 TD, 8 INT) completes 65.0% of his throws for 7.8 YPA, and he has also rushed for six touchdowns this year. His top target is WR Justin Hardy (1,334 rec yards, 9 TD) who has caught 110 passes this season, including at least nine grabs in each of the past four contests. If the Gators key too much on Hardy, WRs Cam Worthy (886 rec yards, 3 TD) and Isaiah Jones (766 rec yards, 5 TD) are both capable of moving the chains. While the potential absence of top RB Breon Allen (869 rush yards, 6.5 YPC, 8 TD) would be a major blow to this offense, RBs Chris Hairston (455 rush yards, 2 TD) and Marquez Grayson (289 rush yards, 5 TD) do average 7.3 YPC and 6.1 YPC, respectively. ECU is average in terms of scoring defense, allowing 25.7 PPG (53rd in nation), but is outstanding versus the run, holding teams to 107 rushing YPG on 3.3 YPC. The pass defense isn't nearly as strong, surrendering a hefty 263 passing YPG on 6.7 YPA. Although this defense has forced at least one turnover in 11 of 12 games this season, only three of those contests have resulted in multiple takeaways.

Florida is a horrendous passing team at 180.7 YPG (106th in nation), but the club rushes the football effectively with 189.5 YPG (43rd in FBS) and scores 30.5 PPG (57th in nation). Freshman QB Treon Harris (896 pass YPG, 7 TD, 3 INT) has completed a pitiful 22-of-55 passes (40%) over the past three games, but he has rushed for 160 yards on 4.7 YPC during these arm struggles. When he does drop back, he looks for one main receiver in sophomore WR Demarcus Robinson (47 rec, 774 yards, 7 TD) who is the only Gators player with at least 350 receiving yards. Robinson has surpassed 100 yards on four different occasions this year, including a monster 15-216-2 line in a 36-30 triple-overtime win over Kentucky in Week 2. But Florida prefers to keep the football on the ground with Harris and RBs Matt Jones (817 rush yards, 4.9 YPC, 6 TD) and Kelvin Taylor (565 rush yards, 5.0 YPC, 6 TD). Jones has three games of more than 100 rushing yards this season, while Taylor has only one (197 at Georgia on Nov. 1). The Gators defense has plenty of talented players that helps limit opponents to 21.2 PPG (20th in nation). There wasn't a glaring weakness either, as the run-stop unit holds teams to 114 rushing YPG on 3.1 YPC, while the passing defense gives up only 194 YPG on 5.9 YPA.