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South Carolina at Vanderbilt Spread 9408

Written September 3, 2008 by Jack Jones

On Thursday, September 4th, the South Carolina Gamecocks will head to Vanderbilt to take on the Commodores at 8:30 EST live on ESPN. The early line set by JustBet sees the South Carolina spread at -10 over Vanderbilt with a total of 40.5.

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Last Thursday the Gamecock offense didn’t get off to the kind of start to the season they were hoping for, but then Chris Smelley came in to relieve Tommy Beecher in the fourth quarter and things changed for the better quickly. That earned Smelley the start for this SEC showdown against Vandy.

South Carolina was supposed to rely on Tommy Beecher as their signal caller all year long, at least that is what head coach Steve Spurrier had been saying since April, but his mind couldn’t have changed more quickly. Beecher threw four interceptions in three quarters against NC State, and was removed to start the final frame after coming down with an injury to his non-throwing shoulder. Enter Smelley, who completed all five of this throws to lead the Gamecocks on three drives that ended in trips to the end zone. The sophomore has some experience as he started six games a year ago, and that experience helped him gain confidence that he could perform at a high level.

Smelley is going to have to hope that the offensive line picks up its play though, as they were called for five penalties, four false starts and a holding pently. The team also allowed their quarterback to be sacked five times.

South Carolina had Smelley as their starter in last year’s disappointing 17-6 home loss to Vandrebilt. He had a career-high two interceptions as the Gamecocks allowed seven sacks in the game. South Carolina also managed only 26 rushing yards on 22 carries.

It will be interesting to see if Mike Davis can pick up where he left off after rushing 14 times for 101 yards in week 1 against NC State. Last year Vandy held Davis to just 16 yards on six rushes.

Defensively, new coordinator Ellis Johnson got off to a good start last week. Even though the offense turned the ball over four times, the team recorded it’s first shutout in two years. That was a nice way to start the season for the team that had the fourth-worst defense in the SEC a year ago. A team which gave up 378.1 ypg, but held the Wolfpack to just 10 first downs, forced four turnovers, and only 138 total yards.

This week should be a better gauge of just how far this team has come, as the Commodores gained 360 total yards last week when they beat Miami of Ohio by a score of 34-13. If you think South Carolina defense holds on then take the -10 spread at JustBet and try to make a profit!

The big threat on the team will be quarterback Chris Nickson, who ran for a career-high 166 yards and two scores, while throwing for another. The team sorely missed Nickson a year ago when he separated his shoulder and was forced to sit out the second half of the year, but this year the offense will revolve around him.

This series has belonged to the Gamecocks as they hold a 14-3 series advantage. Vanderbilt has lost four straight games at home to South Carolina, not winning against them at home since the 1998 season. If you think Vanderbilt gets things turned around, bet the +10 spread at JustBet and get a 20% signup bonus!

Predicted Score: South Carolina 24, Vanderbilt 14

See what our experts think about this game, or look at the other college football picks they have for sale this weekend.

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