NCAAF Betting – Are the Gators Primed to be Upset?
South Carolina Gamecocks (7) @ Florida Gators (2) – Saturday October 20, 2012 3:30PM EST
This weekend marks the beginning of the second half of the college football season, and the second half gets kicked off with a bang when South Carolina heads to Florida. The college football experts are having a great time watching the Florida Gators and Oregon Ducks battling back and forth for the number two spot in the country and the right to face Alabama in the BCS championship game. That means that every game in the second half of the season is critically important to the Florida Gators, which could cause problems if the Gators get upset by the Gamecocks.
Steve Spurrier has taken the South Carolina Gamecocks and turned it into a top 10 program. Just two years ago, no one would have bet that South Carolina would be in a position to challenge for the BCS title, but that is the opportunity that this game presents. Considering the instability in the top five (with the exception of number one Alabama), this game could help the Gamecocks to leapfrog several teams and thrust itself into the national championship discussion. A win over the Gators would do wonders for the Gamecocks standing in the national rankings.
Florida Gators
The experts know that the Florida Gators are winning games primarily on defense. The 14-6 masterpiece that the Gators put together against fourth ranked LSU in week five is the game that helped to thrust the Gators into the second ranked position in the country. The dominating win over Vanderbilt the following week was just icing on the cake. The weakness with the Gators is in its passing game. The running game and the defense more than make up for a lackluster passing game, but that may not be enough to hold off the Gamecocks.
South Carolina Gamecocks
The thing that separates South Carolina from Florida is that South Carolina lost its game to LSU, but the Gamecocks did keep the game close. South Carolina has a better defense than Florida, and the Gamecocks have the potential to score more points than Florida. But Florida can be so dominating on defense that is able to smother other teams. The Gators are also proficient at scoring points on defense and the Gamecocks are not. But with all of that, the South Carolina Gamecocks are still in a good position to pull off the upset if it can avoid the mistakes that cost it the LSU game last week.
The Bottom Line
The sports betting sites are all over Florida in this game, but that may not be the bet to make. The Gamecocks are getting the points, but South Carolina has a shot at winning this game straight-up. This will be South Carolina’s last chance to get into the BCS National Championship discussion, and the Gamecocks are ready for the challenge.
Pick: South Carolina