Clemson at South Carolina Odds

Written by Jack Jones

In one of many Top 25 match-ups in Week 13 college football, the No. 14 South Carolina Gamecocks host the No. 18 Clemson Tigers Saturday. The Tigers have had the edge over the last decade in this rivalry, winning six of the past nine meetings. However, the Gamecocks have been victorious in the last two, including a 29-7 road victory last season. These two institutions are separated by 132 miles and they’ve been bitter rivals since the 1980s. The annual “Palmetto Bowl” is the longest uninterrupted series in the South and the second longest uninterrupted series overall, having been played every year since 1909.

Taking a look at the college football odds, I find a spread of South Carolina -4 over Clemson and a total set of 50.5 points.

South Carolina

The Gamecocks have managed to put together a pretty solid 2010 campaign, though their hopes of winning the SEC East have fallen short. South Carolina (9-2, 6-2 SEC) did hand East winner Georgia their only conference loss, but they have two conference losses of their own to Auburn and Arkansas. They needed the Bulldogs to lose to Kentucky last week for a return trip to the SEC title game, but it wasn’t to be. Georgia prevailed 19-10 in a sloppy performance.

Meanwhile, the Gamecocks were busy hosting FCS opponent Citadel last Saturday. They had some troubles of their own as they only led 20-13 at halftime. South Carolina would go on to outscore Citadel 21-7 after intermission, winning 41-20. They outgained them 473-249 for the game behind 273 passing yards and three touchdowns from Connor Shaw. Brandon Wilds ran for 109 yards and two touchdowns, and Alshon Jeffery finished with five receptions for 81 yards and a score. It was Jeffrey’s first touchdown in a month.

South Carolina comes in ranked 5th in the country in total defense (289.4 yards/game) and 78th in total offense (371.4 yards/game). The offense has really taken a step back of late due to a season-ending injury to leading rusher Marcus Lattimore, and the dismissal of starting quarterback Stephen Garcia. Shaw has played about as well as you could expect, though. He is completing 64.9 percent of his passes for 1,008 yards with nine touchdowns and six interceptions, while also rushing for 376 yards and six scores. Jeffrey has been limited to 43 receptions for 585 yards and six scores.

Clemson

The Tigers have been one of the biggest surprises in the country this season. Clemson (9-2, 6-2 ACC) opened the year 8-0 before a 31-17 loss at Georgia Tech on October 29th. That stretch included three straight wins over ranked opponents in Auburn, Florida State and Virginia Tech. After falling to the Yellow Jackets, the Tigers would clinch the ACC Coastal division title with a 31-28 home victory over Wake Forest.

Knowing that they already had a trip to the ACC title game wrapped up, Clemson would come out sluggish last Saturday against North Carolina State. They found themselves down 27-3 by halftime, and the Tigers would never recover, falling 37-13. Clemson wouldn’t find the end zone until a meaningless touchdown run by Mike Bellamy with 1:22 remaining. They committed four turnovers, and quarterback Tajh Boyd threw for only 238 yards with two interceptions. The Tigers were also held to 34 rushing yards as a team.

A loss like that might wake up a team that ranks 17th in the country in total offense (465.3 yards/game) and 55th in total defense (380.2 yards/game). Boyd is still having an excellent season, completing 61.5 percent of his passes for 3,255 yards with 27 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Andre Ellington has rushed for 871 yards and nine scores to lead their ground attack. Freshman receiver Sammy Watkins is already a star, catching 70 balls for 1,040 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Betting Trends

Clemson is 20-8 ATS in their last 28 games as an underdog, including 11-2 ATS in their last 13 games as a road dog.

South Carolina is 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games following a ATS loss, but 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games as a favorite of 3.5-10.0 points.

If you want to beat the college football spreads in Week 13, then turn to world-renown handicapper Jack Jones.

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