Free NCAA Football Prediction: Texas A&M vs. South Carolina Odds
Looking for Texas A&M Aggies vs. South Carolina Gamecocks free picks? College football betting sees the Aggies taking on the Gamecocks on Saturday, October 22nd, 2022, at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, SC. Cappers Picks provides complimentary handicapping picks all NCAA football season long so stay tuned for more FREE college football game predictions like this Aggies Gamecocks free pick.
College Football Handicapping Analysis: Texas A&M Aggies vs. South Carolina Gamecocks
Texas A&M Aggies (3-3) vs. South Carolina Gamecocks (4-2)
Date: Saturday, October 22nd, 2022
Time: 7:30 pm EST
Venue: Williams-Brice Stadium
NCAA Football ATS Spread Odds: Aggies -3 / Gamecocks +3 (Bet Now!)
NCAA Football Moneyline Odds: Aggies -160 / Gamecocks +140
NCAA Betting Total Odds: 44.5
Week 8 of the college football season sees a battle of SEC schools when Texas A&M goes on the road to face off with South Carolina.
Given how many other good games there are on Saturday, I do feel like this game is being overshadowed a bit, but there is no question this is a very interesting matchup with two solid teams.
Both squads last played on October 8th when the Aggies lost a close one to Alabama while the Gamecocks picked up an impressive win on the road over Kentucky. After both teams got the bye week and extra preparation, I am curious to see what versions of these teams we will see on Saturday evening.
South Carolina has won three in a row after dropping to Arkansas and Georgia in consecutive weeks. There is no doubt that being able to knock off a team like A&M after taking down Kentucky would be huge for a program that really wants to be more relevant.
This game opened with the Aggies as a 4.5-point favorite, but that has come down to 3. There has been a small drop in the total with it going from 45.5 to 44.5.
Texas A&M Aggies
Now that we are deep in October, it is certainly fair to say this is not where the Aggies envisioned themselves being, especially with all the noise that was surrounding them in the offseason.
We kept hearing about their recruiting class and how Jimbo Fisher was ready to lead his team to being a contender, but what we have seen thus far with this program is really more of the same.
There have been some nice wins mixed in there, but there have also been plenty of frustrating losses in what has certainly been an underperforming season to this point.
When you look at the kind of expectations that were given to this team, holding a record of 3-3 is just not good enough for them, especially given how well some other teams in the conference are playing right about now.
Aside from the Mississippi State game where they got beaten pretty badly, they have been competitive in the rest of their games, but the results have just not been there on a consistent enough level.
Sure, being able to keep things close against Alabama on the road is something they can build off, but eventually they need the wins to start piling up. For a school like this, being close or being competitive is just not going to get it cut.
As I look at the rest of their schedule, they have better hope they take care of South Carolina because there are some games remaining that are trickier than that including hosting Ole Miss, Florida, and LSU while going on the road at Auburn.
Despite a lot of the negativity surrounding this football team, they still have a very winnable game on Saturday against a team they are better than even if the records do not necessarily show it.
The Gamecocks did hold Kentucky to just 14 points last time out, but there were some clear vulnerabilities in their run defense as they allowed Chris Rodriguez to run for 126 yards on 22 carries. A&M will look to look to take a page out of the Wildcat’s playbook and establish the run early and then get the passing game going as the game goes deeper.
On the defensive side, they really need to be able to control the line of scrimmage here and get some real pressure on Spencer Rattler. If they are able to make him uncomfortable, it will cause him to play hero ball and likely turn the ball over which will play right into their strategy.
South Carolina Gamecocks
South Carolina comes into this ball game with a record of 4-2 and they will look to make it four in a row when everything is settled on Saturday evening.
Before the Gamecocks knocked off Kentucky, they really had not had that signature win that stood out and that was understandable given who their other wins came against.
I get that the Wildcats were clearly compromised by not having Will Levis as the quarterback when these teams squared off, but it still does not take away from what Carolina was able to do against a program that has owned them for a while now.
Not that one victory over a good team is going to define the season for these guys, but that is the kind of win this team has needed for a while. Being able to play a solid 60 minutes of football against a tough team is something they simply have not been able to do enough over the years which is what makes a game like that really stand out.
Something that I really liked about Shane Beamer’s team in their last game was the balance they were able to have on the offensive side of the ball. Spencer Rattler was not great, but he made the throws he had to do and the running game really stepped up with MarShawn Lloyd leading the way with 22 carries for 110 yards.
Defensively, they did allow Chris Rodriguez to run the ball very effectively, but they did not allow his success on the ground to lead to tons of points being scored for Kentucky. I thought they did a solid job of containing Kaiya Sheron and not allowing any of the other playmakers to really hurt them.
As mentioned earlier, it is very likely that the Aggies will really try and establish the run in this game which is why the Gamecocks are going to have to be better when defending that part of the game here.
Spencer Rattler & co will be facing a talented defense on Saturday, so being able to avoid those ill-advised throws is going to be huge for him. All too often, he just makes throws that are very dangerous and those are the sorts of things that will really hurt his team when facing a unit like this.
NCAA Football Handicapping Trends
- Aggies are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games after accumulating less than 100 yards rushing in their previous game.
- Aggies are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
- Aggies are 8-21 ATS in their last 29 games following a bye week.
- Gamecocks are 7-2 SU in their last 9 games at home.
- The total has gone over in 4 of South Carolina’s last 5 games played in week 8.
4* Texas A&M vs. South Carolina NCAA Betting Final Analysis:
Heading into this game, these are two teams that seem to be headed in different directions and I do feel that matters in a spot like this.
If this were past seasons, I really would not even entertain the idea of the Gamecocks being competitive against an opponent like the Aggies, but I see that being different here.
I know that A&M has a lot of raw talent on their roster, but I just do not have a ton of confidence in their quarterback and other playmakers to go on the road in a tough environment and get this cover.
What South Carolina was able to do in Lexington showed me a lot and it would not surprise me if they are able to get similar results on Saturday. It is not as simple as that victory directly carrying over to this game here, but a performance like that can rub off on a program.
To me, I feel that the home team has the players and coaches necessary to keep things close against a program that I am not very high on at the moment.
4* Texas A&M Aggies vs. South Carolina Gamecocks NCAA Betting Pick: Gamecocks +3
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