South Carolina Gamecocks vs. Clemson Tigers Preview
Where: Memorial Stadium, Clemson
When: Saturday, November 26, 7:30 PM ET
Line: South Carolina Gamecocks (+24) vs. Clemson Tigers (-24); total: 50.0 – view all NCAA Football odds and lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
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Betting on the South Carolina Gamecocks (+24)
The South Carolina Gamecocks will head to their Palmetto Bowl showdown with Clemson with momentum on their side after beating the Western Carolina Catamounts, 44-31, on Saturday. It was a morale-boosting victory for the Gamecocks who became bowl-eligible in Will Muschamp’s first year as head coach. They have now won four of their last five games.
Key to the Gamecocks’ resurgence has been their excellent play on the offensive end. They’re averaging 28 points over their last five outings. Much of the credit for this stunning turnaround should be given to the young trio of Jake Bentley, Rico Dowdle and Deebo Samuel. Bentley has made Muschamp’s decision to turn over the offense to him pay off, completing 66.2 percent of his passes for 198 yards a game. Dowdle, on the other hand, has been a beast for South Carolina, rushing for 684 yards in his last seven games. The freshman is coming off a 226-yard effort last week against Western Carolina.
And what else can we say about Samuel. Not only has the sophomore proven to be a strong downfield weapon for the South Carolina passing attack this season (caught a team-high 41 passes for 579 yards in eight games), he also has the knack for scoring rushing touchdowns in the red zone. He displayed that ability in the game against Western Carolina, running for a pair of 2-yard scores.
Bentley, Dowdle and Samuel will need to raise their game, though, against a Clemson side that is 13th in the FBS in total defense, allowing just 316.1 yards per game this season. That being said, this contest will ultimately be decided by how South Carolina defends against Clemson’s high-powered attack. They will need to put the clamps on the talented Deshaun Watson who has gone 34-of-46 passing for 561 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 127 yards in the two previous games.
South Carolina is 1-3 SU and ATS on the road this season.
Betting on the Clemson Tigers (-24)
Clemson returned to winning ways Saturday with a resounding 35-13 victory over the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at BB&T Field. It was a huge bounce-back win for the Tigers, who suffered a gut-wrenching 43-42 defeat to Pittsburgh the previous weekend. With the victory, Clemson improved its record this season to 10-1 (7-1 in conference play) as they clinched a spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game.
Leading the way for Clemson in this pivotal victory was Deshaun Watson. He accounted for 249 total yards and three scores in the win against Wake Forest. He has been superb for the Tigers this season, passing for just over 298 yards a game. Watson’s proving to be quite a dual weapon for the Tigers as well, rushing for 422 yards this campaign. That’s the second-highest mark on the team. With blustery conditions on Saturday, Clemson leaned on its ground game to dismantle the Wake Forest defense. The Tigers finished with more yards rushing (254) than passing (202) for the first time this season.
The Tigers will need that same kind of offensive balance for them to grab the win against South Carolina. If Watson decides to attack the Gamecocks via the aerial route, he can rely on wide receivers Mike Williams and Artavis Scott to inflict some damage. Williams and Scott have combined for 128 receptions for 1,481 yards and 11 touchdowns this season. If Watson decides to dissect the South Carolina defense with the ground game, then Wayne Gallman is his guy. He rushed for a season-high 161 yards and two scores in the win against Wake Forest. Gallman leads the team in the rushing department with 831 this season.
Clemson is 5-1 SU and 3-3 ATS at home this season. The Tigers are pegged at +900 to win the national championship this season.
Writer’s Prediction
Clemson (-24) not only wins but also covers the spread against South Carolina.
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