Southern Miss South Carolina Betting – Gamecocks Pull Out Home Opener Against Golden Eagles
Online betting players are gearing up for the beginning of the college football betting season, and ESPN kicks off the year with a televised contest on Thursday night when Southern Miss heads to South Carolina. The Gamecocks are a great team early in the year, and they’re strong at home, so they’re a good bet to take over the scrappy Golden Eagles.
- What: NCAA football betting
- When: Thursday, September 2nd, 7:30 PM E
- Where: Williams-Brice Stadium, Columbia, SC
- Pick: South Carolina
What’s On The Line
The Golden Eagles finished their 16th straight winning season with a 7-6 record in the C-USA, culminating in a 42-32 loss to Middle Tennessee State in the New Orleans Bowl. The Gamecocks fell on their face in the second half of 2009, finishing 7-6 in the SEC East, and they were beaten 20-7 by Connecticut in the PapaJohns.com Bowl. Southern Miss has designs on reaching the C-USA title game this season, and a win over an SEC team would definitely boost their confidence.
Offensive Matchups: Southern Miss South Carolina Betting
Southern Miss was 18th in the nation last year in points scored, and they’re back to a two-quarterback system with Austin Young and Martevious Young. Both quarterbacks could have a hard time as the line returns just one starter, and they’ll have to replace Damion Fletcher, who graduated as the leading rusher in the history of the school. V.J. Floyd will get the first chance to come out of the backfield, but none of this will matter unless the Golden Eagles can sort out their line. DeAndre Brown is a receiver with NFL-caliber talent.
Stephen Garcia is back for his junior season, and he was up and down for the Gamecocks, who were 82nd in offense, and 102nd in points scored. The running game was terrible, but could receive a boost in the form of freshman Marcus Lattimore, who some were calling the best back to enroll this fall. Three of their top four receivers are back, but that’s only if tight end Wesley Saunders escapes punishment for allegedly receiving a free trip to Miami this summer. We all remember what happened to Dez Bryant at Oklahoma State last year.
Betting Edge: South Carolina
Defensive Matchups: Southern Miss South Carolina Betting
The Golden Eagles showed last year that they weren’t afraid to shoot it out, and it hurt their NCAA football betting odds. They were 80th defensively last season, and they were especially bad against the pass, coming in 109th (despite being 18th in sacks). Their best player to combat that may be freshman corner Deron Wilson, who will be under pressure to lock down one side of the field early. Their top five tacklers are back, and the Golden Eagles are solid at linebacker, but will that be good enough?
The South Carolina defense kept them in games last year, finishing 15th, but they’re losing three of their top five tacklers from 2009. The corners are fine with Chris Culliver and Stephon Gilmore, who was arguably the best freshman corner in the country last year. Cliff Matthews will be counted on for a pass rush up front, while Shaq Wilson powers the linebackers from the weak side, but the rest of the front seven is a question mark.
Betting Edge: Draw
Notable Injuries: Southern Miss South Carolina Betting
The Golden Eagles are pretty healthy heading into the season, and although Brown had some off-field problems this summer, he shouldn’t miss time.
Saunders is awaiting word on the NCAA investigation, and could very well miss this game for the Gamecocks.
Betting Edge: Southern Miss
Outlook and Pick: Southern Miss South Carolina Betting
NCAA football betting odds should favor the Gamecocks at home in their first meeting with the Golden Eagles, who have lost seven of their last 10 games away from home. The Gamecocks have a habit of getting off to quick starts, and with three games at Williams-Brice Stadium, they may be able to get off to a running start. Look for Garcia to attack a young Southern Miss secondary, and roll to a sports betting victory.
