North Carolina State South Carolina Gambling Preview - Trends - Free Pick

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North Carolina St vs.South Carolina Over/Under Total Pick + Betting Odds

The South Carolina Gamecocks (6-6 SU, 5-5-1 ATS in 2007) are coming off a season where they underachieved with a 6-6 record. Now Steve Spurrier's team opens the 2008 season at home against the North Carolina Wolfpack (5-7 SU, 5-6 ATS in 2007) in an ACC vs. SEC matchup that is set to kick off at 8 PM ET at Williams-Brice Stadium (natural turf) in Columbia, S.C.

BetUS NCAA Football Betting Odds: SOUTH CAROLINA -14.5, Total 45

Here are some of the NCAA football betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

* NCS has covered five of its last seven games
* NCS has won four of its last six games SU
* NCS has lost 14 of its last 19 games SU
* NCS has lost nine of its last 11 road games SU
* SC is 1-4-1 ATS in its last six games
* SC has lost its last five games SU
* SC has played four of its last six games UNDER the total
* SC has won six of its last nine home games SU

After a 6-1 start, Steve Spurrier's team looked like it might be bowl-bound. Then the Gamecocks reeled off five losses in a row to close things out, including an overtime heart-breaker to Tennessee, to finish out of the bowl picture. Whether Spurrier can work some magic with his quarterbacks, Tommy Beecher and Chris Smelley, is a question that does not have a definitive answer. SC fans are at once excited and very nervous about the prospect of having Stephen Garcia in the lineup. Garcia, who was one of the nation's most highly-recruited QB's out of high school, hasn't played at all for Spurrier, because he hasn't been able to stay out of jail. But he has now been reinstated, so he lies in wait in case Beecher falters.

It's good thing for Spurrier and his quarterbacking trio that eight of the top nine receivers from a year ago are back in action, including Kenny McKinley, an all-conference player who caught 77 passes for nine TD's in 2007.

But the real advantage in terms of matchup here resides in North Carolina State's relative inexperience on offense. One must understand that South Carolina was fourth in the nation in pass defense last season, giving up just 169 yards per game through the air, and not only do the Gamecocks return the entire secondary, they've got ten returnees on defense.

N.C. State's top three tacklers are gone from their stop unit, and there will be more of a reliance on freshmen than usual. One of those will be the redshirt frosh Russell Wilson, who beat out Daniel Evans (who threw 24 interceptions the last two years) for the quarterback spot. The thought of Wilson, in his first varsity game, throwing into the teeth of Spurrier's secondary, on the road, is a bit intimidating. Heck, the thought of Evans doing the same is just as scary.

Our concerns are that South Carolina, which did not put a lot of distance between itself and opponents (beat Kentucky by 15 and Mississippi State by 17, its biggest margins against Division I foes), does not have enough offense to pull away. So rather than be shaky laying this number, we'll go UNDER the total with more conviction in the BetUS NCAA football betting odds.

JAY'S PLAY: UNDER 45 **

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