South Carolina football: Gamecocks open as 6.5 point underdogs

The South Carolina football team will travel to Baton Rouge this Saturday to take on LSU.

South Carolina is coming off of its best win of the year, a 30-22 defeat of No. 15 Auburn. After falling behind early, the Gamecocks exploded to outscore the Tigers 30-13 over the game’s final three periods. Next up is a trip to Baton Rouge to take on another set of Tigers.

Defending champion LSU will welcome Will Muschamp and Co. to Death Valley for a matchup under the lights. It will be the Gamecocks’ first trip to Tiger Stadium since 2015, which ended up being Steve Spurrier’s last game on the South Carolina sidelines. LSU has opened as 6.5 point favorites.

In 21 all-time meetings, LSU holds a hefty 18-2-1 advantage. The Gamecocks took down the Tigers 18-17 in 1994, the first matchup with both programs being SEC members, but since then, LSU has gone 6-0-1.

The Tigers have struggled a bit to replace the talent lost from last year’s national championship winning group. LSU will enter Saturday’s matchup at 1-2, with losses to Missouri and Mississippi State.

Myles Brennan has done a nice job filling in for Heisman trophy winner Joe Burrow, ranking third in the nation in passing, averaging more than 370 yards a contest.  Unfortunately, Brennan’s defense has let him down.

The Tigers are allowing 494.7 yards per game, good for 12th in the SEC. Those numbers are coming against Missouri, Vanderbilt, and Mississippi State offenses that rank 7th, 8th, and 14th in the conference, respectively.

In week one, Mississippi State quarterback KJ Costello threw for an SEC record 623 passing yards as the Bulldogs took down the Tigers 44-34. In week three, freshman quarterback Connor Bazelak threw for 406 yards and four touchdowns in Missouri’s upset win in Baton Rouge. Had it not been for a 41-7 beating of an overmatched Vanderbilt team, this Tiger bunch would easily have the worst defensive numbers in the league.

South Carolina, on the other hand, enters having played three ranked foes in their first four matchups. After close losses to Tennessee and Florida, the Gamecocks have reeled off two consecutive wins over Vanderbilt and Auburn.

The offense is running through tailback Kevin Harris, the conference’s third-leading rusher. Through four games, he’s tallied 409 yards and six touchdowns on the ground. The sophomore is coming off of his third consecutive game of 100 or more yards from scrimmage.

Look for the Gamecocks to continue to ride Harris as they try to control the clock and keep a potent LSU offense off of the field.

The Tigers got an unexpected week off to prepare for the Gamecocks, as their matchup with Florida last weekend was cancelled due to COVID outbreaks in the Gator locker room. We’ll see if it plays to their benefit, or if the Tigers come out of the gates a bit rusty.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 PM with the game being televised on ESPN.