Missouri Tigers vs. South Carolina Gamecocks Betting Odds
Carrie Stroup here with your Missouri Tigers vs. South Carolina Gamecocks betting odds, courtesy of Sportsbook.ag. Place your 1st bet, get your 2nd bet FREE here.
Sportsbook.ag Line & Total: South Carolina -5, Total: 62
Opening Line & Total:
Missouri kicks off its 2014 SEC season on Saturday night when it visits No. 13 South Carolina, which has already played three conference games.
Missouri started out the year in solid fashion with SU wins in its first three contests (2-1 ATS) before taking a tough 31-27 home loss last week against 14-point underdog Indiana. In their previous three games, the Tigers outscored their opponents by an average of 24.3 PPG, but could not get things going against the Hoosiers as they allowed 493 yards of offense and a game-winning TD run with 22 seconds left on the clock. The offense did perform well in the contest though, with 503 total yards (331 passing, 172 rushing), but had the sole turnover between the two programs.
South Carolina may be 3-1 SU, but has not been kind to bettors with a 1-3 ATS record with the one cover coming as a 6.5-point underdog in the 38-35 upset of Georgia two weeks ago. The Gamecocks have had a tough schedule as they faced Texas A&M in their season opener, losing 52-28 as 9.5-point favorites, and followed that game with a contest against a solid East Carolina team in which they won 33-23 while failing to cover the 14-point spread.
Last week was a little reprieve from some of the better competition when they rallied to beat a Vanderbilt team by a score of 48-34 as big 23-point favorites. It took three fourth-quarter touchdowns to secure this victory, as the team gained 449 yards of total offense and went 7-for-12 in third-down conversions.
As far as injuries are concerned, the Tigers will be likely be without HB Morgan Steward (hip) who is doubtful, while WR Darius White (groin) is out. However, DL Markus Golden (hamstring) has been upgraded to probable for this SEC matchup. Meanwhile, South Carolina HB Brandon Wilds (shoulder) is listed as probable for Saturday night’s contest.
Missouri has a nice split between its passing (244.5 YPG) and rushing (185.5 YPG) while scoring 38 PPG (36th in nation). QB Maty Mauk (978 pass yards, 14 TD, 4 INT) has been leaned on heavily so far, and attempted a season-high 48 passes in last week’s loss to Indiana. He completed 29 of those throws for 331 yards while getting 2 TD with 1 INT. Overall he has hit on 62% of his passes for 7.8 YPA and has twice thrown for 325+ yards.
Through four games, the quarterback also has 36 rushing attempts for 115 yards (3.2 YPC) and a touchdown. Dominating in the ground attack has been HB Russell Hansbrough (377 rush yards, 3 TD), who has averaged 6.6 YPC and gone over the century mark twice; including 119 yards on just 100 attempts (11.9 YPC) and a touchdown last week versus the Hoosiers. WR Budd Sasser (368 rec. yards, 4 TD) has been the go-to guy through the air, while the void left behind from the absence of WR Darius White (230 rec. yards, 3 TD) should be filled by WR Jimmie Hunt (198 rec. yards, 5 TD) who leads the team with five touchdown grabs.
The defense did not do well in last week’s loss and has allowed 20.8 PPG to its opponents this year. DLs Shane Ray (22 tackles, 6 sacks) and Markus Golden (21 tackles, 4 sacks) bring a tough one-two punch that gives any offensive line headaches.
South Carolina has had no trouble getting things going through the air, as the club is averaging 285 YPG (35th in FBS) while scoring 36.8 PPG. QB Dylan Thompson (1,140 pass yards, 11 TD, 3 INT) has looked solid, and after throwing one interception in each of the first three weeks, was flawless in the win over Vandy, going 22-for-34 (65%) for 237 yards and 3 TD. He has had three or more touchdown passes in three of his four games played, and has added two rushing touchdowns, but is not much of a factor in the rushing attack otherwise. He leaves those duties to HBs Mike Davis (264 rush yards, 2 TD) and Brandon Wilds (210 rush yards, 1 TD) who have a combined 4.8 YPC average.
Davis has been the workhorse over the past three weeks, averaging 17.3 attempts per game, and had a season-high four receptions last week for 30 yards. WR Nick Jones (259 rec. yards, 3 TD) has been the big-play receiver at 15.2 yards per catch, but had only three receptions for 15 yards last week while WR Pharoh Cooper (244 rec. yards, 2 TD) leads the team with 21 receptions (11.6 avg) and had a breakout game last week when he grabbed 11 balls for 114 yards (11.4 avg) against Vanderbilt.
The defense has struggled against the potent opposition in the early going, ranking towards the bottom of the FBS in points allowed (36.0 PPG, 20th-worst in the nation), but hopes that LB Skai Moore (28 tackles, 1 sack) can help get the unit back on track this weekend.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
