LSU vs Florida baseball Game 3 predictions: Who is favored to win the NCAA Men's College World Series 2023?

Everything comes down to Game 3 in the 2023 College World Series as the second-seeded Florida Gators and the fifth-seeded LSU Tigers square off for the national championship.

The Gators are coming off a massive 24-4 victory in Game 2, and things are going to be interesting here.

There are a lot of factors going into this game, so let's discuss what we are expecting here.

What is the pitching matchup for LSU vs Florida, Game 3?

This should be a fun matchup as we could get to see Paul Skenes on the mound one more time for the Tigers. He has not pitched since Thursday in the bracket round finals against Wake Forest where he threw 120 pitches in eight innings.

The Gators will counter with Jac Caglianone, who pitched on Wednesday in their bracket final game against TCU. He managed 4.1 innings with 85 pitches, and had trouble finding the strike zone.

Expect Florida to have their bullpen ready at the first sign of trouble, while LSU will live and die by Skenes' performance as the top pitcher in college baseball.

Will Florida's offense carry over into today's Game 3?

One of the oldest sayings in baseball is that you are only as good as your next day's starter. This Florida team struck out 20 times in Game 1 and had an offensive explosion in Game 2, so it is hard to tell.

This LSU pitching staff should be able to limit the amount of production out of this Florida lineup today. The Tigers knew they had yesterday as a bonus, while the Gators had to win to force a decider.

It is entirely possible that the combination of Wyatt Langford and Caglianone can go 8-for-11 with three home runs and 11 RBI as they did before. However, LSU punted the game after a few innings because of it.

Who will win the College World Series?

When looking at the betting odds for Game 3, the Tigers are considered slight favorites to win. Paul Skenes is the best pitcher in the nation right now and has the ability to dominate. But there are question marks over whether he will start. He's pitched 15.2 innings and allowed two runs on seven hits with two walks and 21 strikeouts in two games in the CWS.

The Tigers are 16-3 in games where Skenes has pitched so expect LSU to pick up a win in Game 3.