Gamecocks Favored By How Much Did You Say?

South Carolina has lost the last 2 games in row after leading in the forth quarter to teams they were expected to beat, but the Gamecocks are now favored by 39 points over Furman this weekend.  Wait, how much did that say?  The Gamecocks  haven’t really been putting teams away that they should be, and this year have only even scored over 39 points in one game this season.  So what leads odds makers to be so sure that this team could not only score 39 points, but win by that amount?  Certainly not the facts.

The facts are that Furman hasn’t played an FBS teams yet this year, so they can’t use that for any of their judgment.  The Gamecocks have not played any FCS teams this year, so once again that can’t be factored into the number.  South Carolina also has only played one team outside the SEC as well, and that was 17th ranked East Carolina, so that doesn’t help.  Furman has the number one pass defense in the entire FCS, so that could be a challenge for the Gamecocks.

So they certainly can’t be using too many facts here.  Considering how much the Gamecocks have let Vegas down, it’s even more surprising they would give this kind of line.  Let’s also consider that if you asked most fans before this came out, they’d probably feel good about a 14 or 15 point line, but very unlikely even Gamecock fans would guess 39.

We’ll never know what really led to the Gamecocks being favored by this much, but I’m sure everyone will be thrilled if the game ends up that way.