South Carolina Gamecocks at Arkansas Razorbacks
Saturday, 11/5/11, 7:15 PM EST, TV: ESPN
Opening Point Spread: Arkansas -5
Current Betting Line: Arkansas -5
Opening Total: 52.5
Current Total: 53
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker
South Carolina is set to play its third straight Southeastern Conference road game when traveling to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks in Fayetteville. The Gamecocks have won three consecutive games since dropping a 16-13 contest to the Auburn Tigers, including a 14-3 victory over the Tennessee Volunteers as 3.5-point road favorites. Key injuries and the dismissal of former starting quarterback Stephen Garcia will make things difficult on the program Saturday. “It’s going to be a real big test,” commented Gamecocks linebacker Antonio Allen. Surprisingly, offensive guru Steve Spurrier brings in the third-best defense in the SEC. South Carolina is 5-1 ATS in November, while the ‘under’ is 5-1 in the team’s last six road games.
The Gamecocks are in control of their own destiny to win the SEC Eastern Division title for a second straight year. South Carolina will be involved in a game featuring two top 10 teams for the first time since the 1987 Gator Bowl. This is the 20th game in a series that dates back to 1992, posting a 7-12 mark, including losses in the last two meetings. Spurrier is 1-2 all-time against Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino.
Arkansas returns home and puts its 3-0 home record on the line, while entering a month that has been very good to its head coach. Petrino boasts a .778 winning percentage in November, a mark that leads all SEC coaches with at least a year of experience. “I’m really excited about it and happy about it,” he commented in practice this week about hosting a game featuring two top 10 programs for the first time since 1979. Arkansas is 0-4 ATS after two or more straight-up wins this season, while the ‘over’ has cashed in three of those contests.
The Razorbacks have won five straight games against opponents from the Eastern Division, which is the longest such winning streak in school history. Arkansas will also be playing its Homecoming game Saturday, posting a 53-32-4 record in that situation. Offensively, the team is incredibly efficient inside the 20-yard line, scoring on 32-of-35 chances when in the red zone. Quarterback Tyler Wilson is the leader of that attack, not throwing an interception in a school-record 176 passes, while leading the conference with 2,327 passing yards.
Bettors will likely back the Razorbacks due to the favorite being 4-1 ATS in this series, while the Gamecocks are 1-5 ATS in Arkansas.
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