The South Carolina Gamecocks are 2-0 on the season, after a 45-9 victory over Towson on Saturday night. Although the win wasn't pretty, as the Gamecocks had six penalties and quarterback LaNorris Sellers had a career-low 96 yards passing.
While starting out the season undefeated is always a good thing, South Carolina has a huge contest looming, taking on fellow undefeated team Mississippi State at home to begin SEC play. MSU defeated UL-Monroe in Week 1, and is coming off of an impressive 38-13 road win over Minnesota over the weekend.
Although the game is still several days away, Las Vegas lines started to trickle out on Sunday afternoon. And the good news for South Carolina fans is that at least for now, Vegas has the Gamecocks as slight favorites at home against the Bulldogs.
South Carolina has opened as a 3.5-point favorite according to DraftKings and FanDuel.
Saturday's game will mark the start of SEC play for the Gamecocks, and the two teams will meet for the first time since 2023. The good news for South Carolina is that history is on Shane Beamer and the Gamecocks' side.
The Bulldogs, who are led by third-year head caoch Jeff Lebby, are gone 1-8 against South Carolina in the last nine meetings. The lone victory during that stretch came in 2016, with that game being played in Starkville. But that was Beamer's first and only game against MSU in his tenure. In the last five games against MSU at home, South Carolina is also 5-0 at home.
The Bulldogs will be looking to drastically change how they perform in SEC road openers. MSU is 0-4 in its last four straight conference road openers.
But this will be a big test for the Gamecocks defense, as it has to go up against the Bulldogs' dynamic quarterback in Kamario Taylor. The first-year Bulldog starter has proven he can play well on the road. On Saturday on the road against Minnesota, he completed 72.7% of his passes, throwing for 227 yards with three touchdowns. He hasn't thrown an interception in each of his first two games, and has been sacked just once.
If the Vegas oddsmakers think this one will come down to a field goal for South Carolina, the Gamecocks have some work to do.
Kicker Max Kelley missed a 45-yard attempt against Towson on Saturday. But things may be changing at that position soon, as Coach Beamer told reporters that Houston transfer Ethan Sanchez is expected to get kicking reps soon.
We'll see if that line changes at all as the week progresses. But for now, South Carolina opens as a slight favorite at home.
Saturday's game will kick off at 4:15 p.m ET and air live on SEC Network.
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