Georgia vs. South Carolina College Football Odds & Picks: Back the Bulldogs in Revenge Spot
Tony Walsh/Collegiate Images/Getty Images. Pictured: JT Daniels.
- Coming off a four-touchdown debut, JT Daniels leads Georgia against South Carolina.
- The Gamecocks are in the midst of a tough season, having been riddled by injuries on defense.
- Mike Bainbridge explains why he is backing the Bulldogs to win big.
Georgia vs. South Carolina Odds
| Georgia Odds | -21.5 [BET NOW] |
| South Carolina Odds | +21.5 [BET NOW] |
| Moneyline | -2500 / +1050 [BET NOW] |
| Over/Under | 49.5 [BET NOW] |
| Time | 7:30 p.m. ET |
| TV | SEC Network |
Motivation levels will be sky-high for the Georgia Bulldogs (5-2) as they travel to Columbia this weekend to take on a downtrodden South Carolina Gamecocks team (2-6) that has lost four straight since pulling an upset of Auburn in October.
Not only does Georgia need to win its final three games of the season to have at least a shot at playing in the SEC Championship Game, but the Bulldogs will also have revenge on their minds after South Carolina upset them, 20-17, in double overtime last season. That was actually the only time in program history in which Georgia was ranked in the top five and lost to an unranked team at home.
Georgia is 2-5 against the spread (ATS) in its last seven games, with the over hitting in four of the last five. South Carolina is 3-4-1 ATS in 2020.
Georgia Bulldogs
Figuring out which Georgia offense we get this week and how South Carolina decides to defend the Bulldogs could decide which side of the total we would want to look toward. The Mississippi State defense forced quarterback JT Daniels and the Georgia passing game to beat it last week, which they did, playing a ton of Cover 0 on the back end and stacking the box to limit the effectiveness of running back Zamir White and the ground game.
Does South Carolina take the same approach on Saturday? I don’t think that's a possibility with the Gamecocks being severely depleted in the secondary, with cornerbacks Jaycee Horn and Israel Mukuamu opting out of the season following the firing of head coach Will Muschamp.
Georgia's offensive line struggled against some of the stunts and slants that the Mississippi State defense presented and rushed for just eight yards on 23 carries as a result. That was likely a one-off performance. Georgia still ranks 22nd in the country in run blocking, according to Pro Football Focus.
The run game wasn’t necessary last week with the newfound success airing out the ball with Daniels making his long-awaited debut. He threw for 401 yards and four touchdowns. Daniels and his talented trio of receivers (Jermaine Burton, Kearis Jackson and George Pickens) should find success against a depleted South Carolina secondary.
South Carolina Gamecocks
Georgia found its starting quarterback for the remainder of the season last week. Is it South Carolina’s turn on Saturday?
Collin Hill was ineffective once again against Missouri, and interim head coach Mike Bobo decided to hand over the reins to true freshman Luke Doty in the second half. No official announcement has been made as of writing, but indications are that the highly-regarded freshman will get the nod this weekend.
Doty completed 11-of-23 passes for 130 yards against the Tigers last week and rushed for 59 yards on 11 carries, offering a different dimension to the offense than the more stationary Hill.
South Carolina’s star receiver Shi Smith suffered a possible concussion on the first possession of the game and did not return, leaving a cloudy status over his availability for this week (he is doubtful to play, per reports). That news is more important to the Gamecocks than most other teams in college football, as Smith accounts for 42% of the team’s total targets in the passing game.
With no threat of a passing game, the Missouri defense loaded the box and limit the Gamecocks' star running back, Kevin Harris, who was held to his second-lowest rushing total of the season at 58 yards. Being one-dimensional heading into a matchup with a Georgia defense that is No. 3 in the land and allowing fewer than 75 rushing yards per game is less than ideal.
Betting Analysis & Pick
The Bulldogs are excellent at stopping the run, as alluded to above, rank 14th nationally in defensive explosiveness. That will be emphasized even further on Saturday as the Gamecocks are likely to be without one of their best offensive weapons in Smith.
Our PRO projections have this matchup closer to a 21.5-point spread, and I will roll with the Bulldogs exacting revenge over last year’s upset.
Pick: Georgia -18.5.
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