Experiencing Technical Difficulties

By: John Schroeder
Updated: November 11th, 2009

ATLANTA – On Wall Street, technical analysis involves picking stocks based on price charts while ignoring underlying fundamentals. After all, so the assumption goes, everything anybody knows about a stock is baked into its price.

Applying this theory to college football, I am putting out a sell rating on the University of Florida.

Forget Urban Myer, Tim Tebow, the 19-game win streak, and the presumed dominance of the SEC. The “price” of the Gators, as reflected in the weekly point spreads, had dropped consistently throughout the year.

In fact, based on everything fans know about Florida baked into the Vegas lines, the current Gators would be an 11-point underdog to the UF team that beat Oklahoma in last year’s national championship game.

It might not happen this Saturday in Columbia, but don’t be surprised when the Gators fall from the ranks of the unbeaten, and don’t be so sure they won’t end up with two losses on the year.

The Six Claims to #1:

• Favorite of Vegas: Texas – a 23-point favorite at Baylor this week
• Quality Wins: Alabama – back on top after taking care of LSU
• Style Points: Texas – averaging a 28-point margin of victory against Div. 1-A opponents
• Hottest Right Now: Texas – followed up Red River Rivalry with three blowout wins
• Road Warrior: Southern Cal. – road wins at Ohio State and California keep the Trojans on top
• Best Undefeated: Alabama – unbeaten in the SEC West