South Carolina football gets smallest home point spread against Vanderbilt in six years
Back in October 2021, in Shane Beamer’s first season as South Carolina football coach, the Gamecocks were favored by 19 points at home against Vanderbilt.
Two years later, the point spread is … closer?
In another sign of the backward step for USC in during Beamer’s third season as coach, the Gamecocks are a 13.5-point home favorite against Vanderbilt this Saturday in a matchup of the bottom two teams in the SEC Eastern Division, per the VegasInsider.com consensus line.
And gamblers have little faith in South Carolina, with Vanderbilt picking up 70% of the total point spread bets and 75% of the money placed on those point spread bets as of Wednesday, as well as 50% of all bets placed and 61% of all money placed on the game.
In other words: About three-fourths of the betting public trust the Commodores (2-8, 0-6 SEC) to win straight up or lose by fewer than 14 points than they do for the Gamecocks (3-6, 1-5 SEC) to win by 14-plus points and cover their largest spread against a Power Five opponent this season.
Saturday’s point spread (USC by 13.5) is 5.5 points lower than the teams’ 2021 meeting at Williams-Brice Stadium (USC by 19). It marks South Carolina’s lowest home point spread against Vanderbilt, annually one of the worst teams in the SEC, since the 2017 season (USC by 7). (The Gamecocks were favored by 6.5 last year in Nashville.)
The 2023 spread is also one of the friendlier ones Vanderbilt, which enters on an eight-game losing streak, has gotten all season. In their two previous SEC road games this year, the Commodores were a 18-point underdog at Florida and a 24.5-point underdog at Ole Miss.
Vanderbilt is the only team lower than South Carolina in the SEC Eastern Division standings and the only team among the SEC’s 14 programs without a conference win this season.
The Gamecocks — who need to win out their remaining home games against Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Clemson to reach the six-win threshold for bowl eligibility — have won 14 straight games against the Commodores and 21 of the last 23 meetings.
Can USC football win out?
It’s been a tough year for USC, which was hoping to build on a 7-6 season in 2021 and an 8-5 season in 2022 that featured massive upsets of Tennessee and Clemson, a Gator Bowl appearance and spots in the final College Football Playoff and AP Top 25 rankings.
But amid excellent seasons for quarterback Spencer Rattler and receiver Xavier Legette, both of whom are cementing themselves as high-level 2024 NFL Draft prospects, USC’s been hampered by injuries, one of the country’s worst statistical defenses, lingering issues with its offensive line and run game, and one of the nation’s tougher schedules.
South Carolina had lost four straight games to Tennessee, Florida, Missouri and Texas A&M before beating Jacksonville State, which competes in FBS Conference USA, by 10 points last Saturday at home to snag its first win since Sept. 23 vs. Mississippi State.
JSU was trailing 31-28 and reached South Carolina’s 15-yard line with about two minutes remaining in the game before linebacker Stone Blanton’s 88-yard pick-six sealed South Carolina’s 38-28 win.
Beamer addressed and defended the close win at length Tuesday, saying that people who questioned why USC celebrated a victory over a perceived lesser opponent “live a miserable existence.”
Vanderbilt enters Saturday’s game at South Carolina (noon, SEC Network) coming off its closest SEC defeat of the season, a 31-15 home loss to Auburn.
SEC Week 11 odds
Consensus lines via VegasInsider.com
No. 8 Alabama (-10.5) at Kentucky, noon (ESPN)
Vanderbilt at South Carolina (-13.5), noon (SECN)
No. 13 Tennessee (-1.5) at No. 14 Missouri, 3:30 p.m. (CBS)
Auburn at Arkansas (-3), 4 p.m. (SECN)
No. 9 Ole Miss at No. 2 Georgia (-10.5), 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Florida at No. 19 LSU (-13.5), 7:30 p.m. (SECN)
Mississippi State at Texas A&M (-19.5), 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
