South Carolina Gamecocks at Auburn Tigers
Saturday, 9/25/10, 7:45 PM EDT, TV: ESPN
Opening Point Spread: Auburn -3
Current Betting Line: Auburn -3
Opening Total: 45.5
Current Total: 46.5
Current Moneyline: Auburn -155/South Carolina +135
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South Carolina enters with a perfect 3-0 record and the team has been leaning heavily on freshman running back Marcus Lattimore. He rushed for 182 yards in a 17-6 win over Georgia two weeks ago and 97 yards on 19 carries against Furman just seven days ago. The Gamecocks will now take direct aim at starting 4-0 for only the ninth time in school history when it makes its first road trip of the 2010 season. Saturday’s game marks the ninth game in the series with Auburn, which dates back to 1930. The team is 1-6-1 all-time against the Tigers, including an 0-2 mark in games played at Jordan-Hare Stadium. More importantly, South Carolina is searching for its first conference road victory since a win over Kentucky on October 11, 2008, a stretch of five contests. The squad is 9-7 ATS versus SEC opponents over the last three years and 74-65 ATS since 1992. With the line bouncing up and down between 2.5 and 3 make sure you are getting the best number no matter the side you take and view our NCAA football odds page for lines from multiple sportsbooks.
The Gamecocks aren’t just doing great things on the ground offensively, as the defense ranks first in the SEC in rushing defense. The unit is allowing 59.7 yards per game and will be tested against a Tigers team that tops the league in averaging 259.3 rushing yards per game. Head coach Steve Spurrier is 10-5 all-time against Auburn, including a 10-3 mark while at Florida. He is 4-3 as a head coach in games played at tonight’s venue. Offensively, the offense will hope to remain perfect in the red zone in such an important game. South Carolina is 12-for-12 in red zone opportunities, scoring 10 touchdowns along with two field goals. The team is 7-6-1 ATS in its last 13 underdog opportunities and the total is 6-8 O/U in those contests.
Auburn has won three of its last four games by a field goal dating back to a wild overtime victory over Northwestern in the Outback Bowl. “We just want to make it exciting, that’s for sure,” head coach Gene Chizik commented. The two teams have played four games against each other since the Gamecocks joined the SEC in 1992, with the Tigers winning all four of those games. This will be the first meeting between the two schools when both teams were nationally ranked. If the game is close as many expect, a key stat is Auburn’s opponents converting on just one of 11 tries on third downs in the fourth quarter. The squad is 9-17 ATS over the last three seasons and the total is 11-13 O/U over that span.
The Tigers offense is led by four offensive linemen that have a combined 121 career starts, helping to protect quarterback Cameron Newton. Auburn leads the nation in passing efficiency, thanks largely to having the nation’s top yards per attempt (11.80) and touchdown percentage (13.73). Of the team’s 15 scoring drives in regulation this season, eight have taken less than two minutes off the clock and only one has taken more than four minutes. Playing at Jordan-Hare Stadium is certainly an advantage due to the Tigers possessing a 21-4 mark at the venue at night since the 2000 season.
Bettors will find the Gamecocks possessing a 6-1 ATS mark in their last seven September tilts, while the Tigers step in with a 6-1-1 ATS record in their last eight games as a favorite of 0.5-3.0 points. We have no opinion on this conference, line looks right and this should be a great game to watch not bet. We do have 7 NCAA football picks lined up for the Saturday slate and are currently riding a 75% pick run, dont miss 1 more winner for the best handicappers on the Internet.
