The South Carolina football team will face off against SEC rival Tennessee this weekend as they look to land their first conference win under new head coach Shane Beamer. The Gamecocks are fresh off of a 24-13 win over Troy while the Vols enter the matchup following a 62-24 demolition of Missouri. Both teams come into the game sitting at 3-2.
This truly seems like a matchup of strength vs. strength in terms of Tennessee’s high flying offense and South Carolina’s lockdown defense. The Vols’ unit currently ranks 10th in the nation in scoring at 40.8 points per game but they could have their hands full with the top 25 defense that the Gamecocks will roll out.
This game has been historically close over the last decade, having eight of the last ten games decided by just one score. Six of those have been within a field goal or less. Each team is 5-5 over that span.
For that reason, it’s a bit surprising to see the opening betting line set at -10.5 in favor of the Vols. While Tennessee has been the stronger team, at least offensively, to this point, the back and forth nature of this series would suggest that the final score will by much closer. Just twice since 2010 has the game been decided by 10 points or more.
The over/under in this matchup currently sits at 57.5, which we also think is a little high, though that number has gone over in each of the last two meetings. Five of the six contests prior finished well under that total and we’re expecting things to trend back that way, particularly with the Gamecocks’ struggles on offense. We’re predicting a score closer to 27-17 in favor of the Vols.
While bettors can easily wager on the game line and total, there are also a couple of different prop bets available on WynnBET. Let’s take a look at these props and see where you can find a little more value in the upcoming matchup.