There are a lot of interesting matchups in college football this week, many of which have playoff implications. One of the games to watch this weekend is the SEC game between two college football betting favorites: the Georgia Bulldogs and the South Carolina Gamecocks.
Prior to the season, South Carolina was ranked #9 in the country, and was considered a favorite to win the SEC East, and get a chance to play SEC championship game. The Gamecocks stumbled out of the gates, losing their first game of the season to #21 Texas A&M, 52-28, which ended their 18 game home winning streak. In their second game of the season against East Carolina, the Gamecocks struggled early in the game, but fought their way back, and won the game 33-23. Their first two games showed that the Gamecocks might not be as good as most people considered them to be. South Carolina has a lot of problems on defense, especially their pass defense. So far this season, they are averaging 37.5 points against them, which is 113th in the country. In their first game, Texas A&M quarterback Kenny Hill, who was making his first start, threw for 511 yards and 3 touchdowns. In their second game, East Carolina quarterback Shane Carden threw for 321 yards and 1 touchdown, but threw 2 costly interceptions. Head coach Steve Spurrier has to find a way to fix the secondary, or their opponents will keep exploiting it, which will cost them a few more games in the competitive SEC. On offense, their passing game is one of the best in the country, they are averaging 316 yards through the air, which is 26th best in the country, they are averaging 121 yards on the ground, which isn’t bad. Even though they lost their first game, they can still salvage their season if they improve their defense.
Meanwhile the Georgia Bulldogs have only played one game so far, but they put on a very impressive performance. They came into the season ranked #12 in the country, but they dominated then #16 Clemson in their season opener, which vaulted them to #6 in the rankings. Junior running back Todd Gurley emerged as a Heisman candidate in the game against Clemson, rushing for a career high 198 yards and three touchdowns, and he also added a 100 yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Georgia has only played one game, so it is hard to get a good read on them. They have a good running game which averages 328 yards, and is ranked 11th in the country, it is still too early to tell how good their passing game is, because they didn’t have to throw the ball very much against Clemson. On defense, they looked shaky in the first half against Clemson, and allowed the Tigers to score 21 points, but they settled down and shut them out in the second half.
Georgia is favored to win this game by 6.5 points, so far this season, South Carolina is 0-2 ATS, while Georgia is 1-0. South Carolina has won three of the last four meetings between the two teams, and will win this game, making it four out of the last five.