Bet on South Carolina vs. Vanderbilt: College Football 2012 Gets Underway Tonight
Carrie Stroup here. Happy Opening Day of College Football everyone! What a great time of year in sports. If you would like to bet on the first major College Football game of the new season, South Carolina vs. Vanderbilt, odds were available at Sportsbook.com, along with up to a FREE $250 in CASH for qualified new signups right here. Mention your bonus code CARRIE STROUP.
Sportsbook.ag Line & Total: South Carolina -6.5 (-120) & 45
Opening Line & Total: Gamecocks -6.5 & 46.5
South Carolina Gamecocks Futures:
*Regular Season Win Total Betting Odds - OVER/UNDER 8.5 with OVER -140, the UNDER pays $11 for every $10 bet.
*Odds to Win 2013 BCS Championship – 30/1
*Heisman Trophy Marcus Lattimore – 10/1
*SEC Odds to Win – 12/1
The 2012 college football season gets underway Thursday with an SEC matchup between No. 9 South Carolina and host Vanderbilt.
The Commodores are winless against the Gamecocks in the past three seasons, totaling 20 points in the three defeats. Last year, they were outgained 367-77 in a 21-3 South Carolina rout. ‘Cocks star RB Marcus Lattimore piled up 150 total yards and two scores in that meeting, and he appears fully recovered from the knee injury that sidelined him for the final six games of 2011. The Commodores bring back 18 starters, including their top offensive skill players in QB Jordan Rodgers, RB Zac Stacy and WR Jordan Matthews. However, they’ll have a hard time gaining yards against a South Carolina defense that ranked third in the nation in total defense (268 YPG) and forced 32 turnovers a year ago. The ‘Cocks usually enjoy their trip to Nashville, going 8-2 SU (7-3 ATS) in their past 10 games at Vanderbilt.
South Carolina also returns its quarterback, Connor Shaw who was solid after taking the starting job midseason. He completed 65.4% of his passes for 1,448 yards, 14 TD and 6 INT. Shaw also rushed for 525 yards and scored eight rushing TD in the final six games. The team hopes Lattimore (818 rush yds, 10 TD) will be scoring the majority of rushing touchdowns this season though. Star wideout Alshon Jeffery is now in the NFL, but the ‘Cocks still have a solid receiving corps led by Ace Sanders (383 rec yds). The defense is expected to be more aggressive this season under new defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward, who replaces Ellis Johnson, now the head coach at Southern Miss. Ward, who is expected to blitz more frequently than Johnson, inherits a secondary that allowed just 132 passing YPG in 2011, the second-best mark in the nation. South Carolina also brings back star sophomore DE Jadeveon Clowney who tallied eight sacks and five forced fumbles as a freshman last year.
Vanderbilt, which upped its win total from two in 2010 to six last year, expects to make a bowl again despite playing in the best conference in the land. Vandy was tough to beat at home last year, going 7-0 ATS (5-2 SU), losing tight contests to Georgia and Arkansas. However, the Commodores finished 2-6 SU in conference play last year, beating only Ole Miss and Kentucky. The offense should be able to pile up points with its trio of Rodgers (1,524 pass yds), Stacy (1,193 rush yds, 14 TD) and Matthews (778 rec yds, 5 TD). However, questions linger about a defense that lost several key players from a unit that overachieved in 2011, allowing just 323 total YPG (18th in nation) and 21.6 PPG (29th in FBS).
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
