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South Carolina at Tennessee College Football Lines

Written October 29, 2009 by Rock Henderson

Tennessee was 44 yards away from defeating the #1 team in the land last weekend at Alabama, but a mountain in the middle of the line dashed any hopes the Vols had of Daniel Lincoln’s 44 yard field goal sailing through the uprights when DT Terrance Cody blocked the kick. Lane Kiffin’s bunch will need to regroup quickly as another tough tests awaits at home when South Carolina rolls into town. The Cocks come off a close 14-10 win at home against a pesky Vanderbilt team and are ranked 22nd in the country. This match-up is usually close throughout as the average margin of victory has been 7 points since the millennium. Tennessee was defeated for the first time since 1992 in Columbia a year ago, but have won 14 of the last 16 games in the series. The Vols are listed as a 5 point favorite on our latest college football betting odds.

Steve Spurrier prides himself on being an innovator of offense, but his 2009 Gamecock team has managed to win six of eight games with one of the best defenses in the country. Led by LB Eric Norwood, the unit as a whole has been stout besides a game at Georgia that turned into a shootout within the first couple minutes of the game. Sophomore QB Stephen Garcia has made great strides this season after struggling as a freshman. He has amassed almost 1800 yards and tossed 11 touchdown passes against just four interceptions. South Carolina has also benefited from the development of some of their young wide receivers. Freshman Alshon Jeffery has shown flashes of being the next big time playmaker at USC with 443 yards receiving and five scores this year. Senior WR Moe Brown has been another nice option for Garcia and 6-5 freshman Tori Gurley is a work in process, but could form a nice tandem with Jeffrey down the line. With all the weapons that Carolina possesses in the passing game, it is no wonder why Garcia has shown so much improvement.

Tennessee has probably made more noise this year in two of their losses than in the three wins they have. A 10 point loss at Florida and a two point loss at Alabama showed that the Vols can play with the big boys of college football under Kiffin. Much of the recent success can be attributed to QB Jonathan Crompton finally taking care of the ball and playing at a high level. Crompton has thrown for almost 1500 yards and 14 touchdowns with 10 interceptions. Most of those 10 picks came in the first five games as Crompton has only thrown two picks in his last three outings. RB’s Montario Hardesty and Bryce Brown have given the Vols a legitimate running attack as the two have combined for 143 yards rushing per game and have found the end zone eight times. The defense shutdown Alabama’s vaunted running attack and held Florida to 23 points, but they are -3 in turnover differential. If you plan to do any betting on college football the rest of this season, you need to take advantage of the $500 match bonus from BetUS.

The Vols have dominated this match-up as they have simply had more talent than the Cocks. This year plays to a different tune though. Tennessee hasn’t really done anything to deserve be favored by five in this game besides ripping apart a terrible Georgia secondary at home. South Carolina has the defense to keep them in the game and if QB Stephen Garcia can take care of the ball the Gamecocks have an excellent chance to win this game. Play: South Carolina +5

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