Leaving this constraint in the hands of LSU to infiltrate for an extra week, the South Carolina Gamecocks are welcoming the Texas A&M Aggies in Columbia for yet another prime time fight this Saturday night on ESPN.
Although Gamecocks didn’t even come close to covering the spread from two weeks ago, they are still a solid 4-1 against the year’s number.
For this game, the USC is coming out of its seemingly timely goodbye week, while the Aggies are in the middle of a three-game winning streak, with their most recent win over Arkansas last weekend in which it was a much more competition. one-sided than the score shows.
Despite the upward trajectory of Texas A&M and the free fall in South Carolina fans’ confidence, Gamecocks are still losing just 7.5 points against the Aggies, according to VegasInsider.com.
The line hasn’t changed much since the opening too, in fact giving a half point stroke in favor of the Cocks from eight points.
ESPN’s FPI has a 44.6% chance of winning South Carolina, which seems to disagree with the spread and most college football fans. In fact, the USC had a 33.8% chance of beating Auburn, so that is surprising to say the least.
The up / down is defined at 55.5 points.
Why was the line defined in this number?
My best guess is that South Carolina played against top teams or won at home so far, losing four to Tennessee and beating Auburn eight.
The fact is that none of these teams are at the level of Texas A&M.
Furthermore, it is a well-known fact that Gamecocks have not yet beaten Aggies … ever.
Taking last year’s loss off the stage, the previous two clashes were, in fact, games played, with the Cocks losing by 10 points combined.
The attack also had problems scoring points of any kind last year, so the game should be much more played this time.
Will it be within seven points? We’ll have to find out.
South Carolina also had extra time to prepare for the farewell week. Hopefully, it will seem that they used that time wisely.
What will have to happen for Gamecocks to cover?
With the exception of Arkansas last week, Texas A&M has been very good against the race, which is what a team with a heavy race doesn’t want to hear.
By the way, this must be a Collin Hill game. For all those who doubt that he will be placed on the bench, this is the game where he needs to shine.
If he doesn’t play well in this – and I’m saying he needs at least 250 yards, two touchdowns and no choice – the Cocks are likely to be crushed.
In addition, Kellen Mond loves to use his legs, whether fighting out of his pocket or running a few meters in a broken shot.
Defensively, USC has to contain it if they want to keep it closed.
One choice would also be good, but he only has two this season, so that could be asking too much.
What is the best bet?
The best bet would be Texas A&M money because they would not lose this.
South Carolina could make this a difficult game, but it is much more likely that if they do, they will not finish the job, again suffocating in times of crisis.
This team’s first victory against the Aggies will not happen this year.
I am predicting a loss between 3 and 13 points, but if there was a gun in my head and I had to make a choice, I would get South Carolina plus the points.