The 2-1 South Carolina Gamecocks are set to go on the road for the first time this season, taking on the undefeated Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa. The Gamecocks are coming off a 41-34 loss at home to Mississippi State, whereas the Tide just beat Florida State at home, 50-36. Saturday's SEC showdown between the Tide and Gamecocks will kickoff at 7:30p.m. ET.
With the game just over 24 hours away, let's take a look at the final odds and give a prediction for how Saturday night's game will go.
Final odds for South Carolina vs. Alabama
Here's a look at where things stand in Las Vegas with the matchup. For this, we'll use DraftKings Sportsbook.
- Spread: Alabama -12.5
- Over/Under: 54.5
As you can see, Alabama is favored by just over two scores. The line is similar to what it opened at earlier this week, as the Tide were listed as 11.5-point favorites. Vegas thinks this one will be relatively high scoring, with the point total at 54.5.
Alabama comes into this game averaging 47.7 points per game, compared to South Carolina's 45.3 points per game.
Prediction: Alabama 35, South Carolina 24
Trust me, it would be great for college football if Alabama were to be upset at home this early in the season. And the Gamecocks have gotten close to knocking off Alabama in the last two tries, with both games finishing as one-score contests.
But South Carolina's defense had a hard time defending Mississippi State quarterback Kamario Taylor last week, who is a mobile quarterback like Keelon Russell. The Gamecock defense allowed him to throw for 251 yards with four touchdowns, including another 33 rush yards. In his last three games, Russell has thrown for 764 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions. He is second in Alabama's rushing offense, with 133 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
It sounds like Dylan Stewart's back is also still not 100%, as the Gamecocks star was absent from the fourth quarter last week. South Carolina will also be without Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy, who left last week's game early with an upper body injury.
Offensively, South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers has not taken care of the football in the last two weeks. He threw two interceptions against MSU, and had one against Towson. His track record against Alabama with turnovers isn't great, as he has had multiple turnovers against the Tide's defense in each of the last two meetings.
LaNorris Sellers has to take care of the fotball if he wants to beat Alabama
As much as I'd like to think he will improve on the road, he just hasn't shown me enough in the last two weeks to have much faith in this one. Alabama's rush defense ranks fifth in the nation, allowing just 53 yards on the ground per game. So South Carolina's offense likely won't be able to run the ball effectively against this unit.
Hey, maybe South Carolina will prove me wrong here. And Shane Beamer has gotten close to knocking off the Tide in the last two tries. But after struggling at home against an unranked Mississippi State team at home last week, I think the Gamecocks will struggle on the road against a very good Alabama team.
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