Led by a six-touchdown performance by quarterback Kyle Trask, Florida (1-0 SU, 1-0 ATS) hung 51 points on Ole Miss last week. The Gators hope for more of the same against South Carolina (0-1 SU, 0-0-1 ATS), which has lost 10 of its last 12 visits to The Swamp. Florida opened as a 19.5-point favorite.
- Date/Time: October 3, 12 noon ET
- Stadium: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
- TV Coverage: ESPN
- Sportsbook Odds: Florida -19.5 | O/U 55 (Line History)
- South Carolina vs Florida Matchup Report
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
This marks the first time in the last four meetings that the line has been over a touchdown. Florida was just a 3.5-point favorite when the Gators visited South Carolina last season. Early action saw bettors grabbing the value on the Gamecocks, moving this line down to -18 by Sunday night.
South Carolina News & Notes
A late special teams miscue spoiled a strong showing by South Carolina’s offense in last week’s 31-27 loss to Tennessee. First-time starting QB Collin Hill threw for 290 yards as the Gamecocks overcame a 21-7 deficit to tie the game 24-24 in the fourth quarter, and South Carolina looked poised to get the ball trailing by four points with 1:24 to go. However, Tennessee’s punt hit a Gamecocks blocker and the Volunteers recovered the ball in South Carolina territory to run out the clock.
Coach Will Muschamp pointed the finger at his defense, not his punt return team, after the Gamecocks allowed 480 total yards in the loss.
South Carolina wasn’t at full strength defensively in the contest as linebacker Sherrod Greene and cornerback Israel Mukuamu missed parts of the second half due to injury. Both are listed as day to day for this week, while linebacker Jahmar Brown – who sat against Tennessee with a knee issue – may also return against the Gators.
Florida News & Notes
Florida’s quarterback-tight end tandem of Trask and Kyle Pitts dominated national headlines last week after Trask threw six touchdown passes, four of them to the six-foot-six, 240-pound Pitts.
Trask completed 30 of 42 throws for 416 yards in the 51-35 win at Ole Miss, while Pitts finished the day with 170 yards on eight receptions. Florida also showed an ability to run the ball, averaging nearly seven yards per carry.
The offensive production overshadowed a poor afternoon by the Gators defense, which was gashed for 443 passing yards and another 170 on the ground. Florida gave up 29 first downs and allowed Ole Miss to convert nine of 14 third-down attempts.
The secondary looked particularly vulnerable without senior safety Brad Stewart Jr., giving up several big plays over the top. Stewart missed last week due to undisclosed reasons and his status for this week is uncertain.
Betting Pick: OVER 55
LSU cashed a pile of OVER tickets last year before oddsmakers caught on to the strength of the Tigers offense, and we could see the same thing with Florida this year. With South Carolina’s offense looking better than expected last week and with the Gators’ struggles in the secondary, look for the OVER to cash for the fourth straight meeting.
- South Carolina has lost its last 4 games (avg margin: 17.0).
- Florida has won its last 7 home games (avg margin: 29.3).
- South Carolina has lost 10 of its last 12 at Florida.
