South Carolina vs Texas A&M Odds, Picks, Predictions | Saturday College Football Betting Guide

South Carolina vs Texas A&M Odds

Saturday, Oct. 22

7:30 p.m. ET

SEC Network

South Carolina Odds
Spread	Total	Moneyline
+3 -115	45 -105o / -115u	+130

Texas A&M Odds
Spread	Total	Moneyline
-3 -105	45 -105o / -115u	-150

Odds via DraftKings. Get up-to-the-minute college football odds here.

South Carolina will host Texas A&M on Saturday night in a battle between two teams headed in different directions.

The Gamecocks will look to make it four straight victories while the Aggies will try to stop a two-game skid. Both teams sit at 1-2 in SEC play and will benefit from a bye last week.

So, can South Carolina continue its momentum and pick up its first-ever win in this series? Or will Texas A&M improve to 9-0 all-time against the Gamecocks with its ninth straight victory in the past nine years?

Let's take a closer look at each team and then break it down from a betting perspective.

South Carolina Gamecocks

After a messy year of quarterback roulette that even ended with the Gamecocks starting a wide receiver at quarterback in their bowl game, head coach Shane Beamer brought in former Oklahoma gunslinger Spencer Rattler via the transfer portal.

Beamer hoped Rattler would provide a significant bump to the passing game, but he has had a disappointing first half of the season. Rattler has thrown three fewer touchdowns than interceptions (5-8) and ranks 100th in QBR.

Conversely, the rushing attack has thrived. The Gamecocks rank in the top 30 in both EPA per Rush and Rushing Success Rate, led by explosive running back MarShawn Lloyd.

The former highly-touted recruit has now fully recovered from his knee injury. Over the past three games, he has rushed for 359 yards (7.5 YPA) to go along with five touchdowns on the ground.

Defensively, South Carolina's metrics are negatively skewed after it had to deal with injuries to as many as eight defensive starters at once earlier this season. However, a two-week break against Charlotte and South Carolina State allowed the Gamecocks to get much healthier (on offense too).

The results were promising at Kentucky, albeit against a backup quarterback. The Gamecocks should be even healthier now following the bye week.

Texas A&M Aggies 

It's been quite a disappointing season for the 3-3 Aggies, who had high preseason expectations. They got upset at home by a Group of Five team (Appalachian State) and lost by 18 at Mississippi State.

The Aggies did hang around against Alabama, but the Tide started a backup quarterback and tried to give that game away with multiple turnovers that led to short fields for Jimbo Fisher's bunch.

Their three wins came against an FCS school and two Power Five clubs in Miami (FL) and Arkansas. However, none of those three came on the road, and they probably should've lost to both the Hurricanes and Razorbacks, who each finished with more yards in one-possession losses.

The main culprit has been a struggling offense that ranks outside the top 100 in Success Rate. If you remove two non-offensive touchdowns and another score in garbage time, Texas A&M has averaged only 16.8 offensive points per game against its five FBS opponents.

And if you remove the points scored on drives that started in opponent territory after turnovers, that average drops to a paltry 12.6 points.

The passing game has been downright dreadful, ranking outside the top 100 in EPA per Pass. To make matters worse, the Aggies also lost their most dangerous weapon in Ainias Smith to a season-ending injury.

We'll see who ends up starting at quarterback with Max Johnson injured and Haynes King dealing with some bumps and bruises. Add in King's struggles, and Jimbo might go to highly-touted freshman Conner Weigman, who has yet to see action.

Regardless of who lines up under center, I don't envision Texas A&M lighting up the scoreboard for the first time in 2022.

Defensively, the talented but inexperienced front just hasn't lived up to the hype. For the season, the Aggies rank outside the top 100 in both Line Yards and Opportunity Rate. They've also graded out below-average nationally in EPA per Rush and Rushing Success Rate.

The experienced secondary has at least played well, but hasn't been as dominant as those in College Station had envisioned.

South Carolina vs Texas A&M Matchup Analysis

Toggle the dropdowns below to hide or show how South Carolina and Texas A&M match up statistically:

Texas A&M Offense vs. South Carolina Defense

	Offense	Defense	Edge
Rush Success	61	119
Line Yards	79	116
Pass Success	108	49
Pass Blocking**	114	48
Havoc	109	74
Finishing Drives	90	92
** Pass Blocking (Off.) vs. Pass Rush (Def.)

South Carolina Offense vs. Texas A&M Defense

	Offense	Defense	Edge
Rush Success	29	105
Line Yards	52	107
Pass Success	93	12
Pass Blocking**	67	65
Havoc	129	76
Finishing Drives	54	4
** Pass Blocking (Off.) vs. Pass Rush (Def.)

Pace of Play / Other

PFF Tackling	36	79
PFF Coverage	70	122
SP+ Special Teams	82	2
Seconds per Play	28.4 (101)	26.9 (76)
Rush Rate	48.6% (93)	52.4% (74)

Data via CollegeFootballData.com (CFBD), FootballOutsiders, SP+, Pro Football Focus and SportSource Analytics.

South Carolina vs Texas A&M Betting Pick

Despite pulling off an upset two weeks ago at Kentucky, I still believe the Gamecocks remain undervalued in the market. In contrast, I don't think this Texas A&M team has been downgraded enough.

This also sets up as a potential sleepy spot for Texas A&M — even with both teams coming off of a bye. With their season-long goals already washed away, the Aggies could get caught off guard in Columbia with undefeated Ole Miss up next.

Meanwhile, this is an extremely important game for the South Carolina program in front of what should be a raucous night crowd at Williams-Brice Stadium.

The Aggies could have some success on the ground, but I can't see them getting much through the air against a much-healthier South Carolina stop unit. Plus, some of SC's early-down metrics suggest better results are on the horizon.

On the other side of the ball, look for Lloyd and company to take full advantage of a very vulnerable Texas A&M run defense. They should stay ahead of the sticks and put Rattler in favorable passing situations.

Additionally, don't sleep on the South Carolina special teams, which have excelled in every facet. For the season, I have the Gamecocks ranked No. 1 overall in the often-forgotten-about third phase of the game.

Meanwhile, Texas A&M has performed a bit below average in that department. Don't be shocked if special teams end up deciding a game I make the Gamecocks a tiny favorite in.

Lastly, South Carolina head coach Beamer is a perfect 3-0 SU and ATS with extra time (8+ days) to prepare, with a trio of outright upsets over Florida, North Carolina and Kentucky as 17.5-, 12.5- and 4.5-point underdogs, respectively.

Pick: South Carolina +3

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