The SEC’s second-leading receiver, Pharoh Cooper (656 yards, 5 TDs), will be on display when the South Carolina Gamecocks meet the No. 11 Florida Gators. Florida (8-1) enters this game looking to add to its positive record, while South Carolina (3-6) would like to get things going with a win. The game kicks off Saturday, Nov 14 at 12:00 p.m. ET and will be shown on ESPN.
In last week’s game, South Carolina lost a close one to Tennessee 27-24. Perry Orth had a great game through the air in the loss, completing 20 of 39 passes for 233 yards and three TDs. Florida is hoping for another victory like last week’s performance, when it won a tight one against Vanderbilt 9-7. Demarcus Robinson had an outstanding performance for the Gators, grabbing nine receptions for 106 yards. Treon Harris put up 158 yards through the air.
The Gators take on the Gamecocks as an eight-point favorite this week. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is sitting at 46 points.
Sitting at 3-6 Straight Up (SU) and 5-4 Against The Spread (ATS), the Gamecocks will look to improve heading into Week 11. In their five most recent matchups, the Gamecocks went 1-4 SU and 3-2 ATS. During their last five games, the Gamecocks gave up 203.8 passing yards per game. South Carolina has only earned an average of five penalties per game on the season, making them one of the least penalized teams in the nation (22nd).
Across the field, the Gators have 8-1 SU and 6-3 ATS records this season. In the previous five games, Florida has a record of 4-1 SU and 3-2 ATS. Florida might prepare to toss the ball frequently. Offenses have picked apart the pass defense of the Gamecocks, which allows a completion percentage of 65.8%, 118th in the nation. South Carolina will be matching up against a stout Gators defense which has been playing better. They only allowed 11 PPG over their last five matchups, well below their season average of 14.6. Florida’s pass defense ranks 11th in the nation. This intimidating group gives up just 173.4 yards per game through the air. The Gamecocks need to protect their quarterback against the sack-happy Gators. The Florida defense ranks ninth in the country in sacks with 3.1 per game.
Predictions: SU Winner – Florida, ATS Winner – Florida, O/U – Over
Notes
South Carolina is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of South Carolina’s last 13 games.
South Carolina is 20-5 SU in its last 25 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of South Carolina’s last 7 games at home.
South Carolina is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Florida.
South Carolina is 5-14 SU in its last 19 games when playing Florida.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of South Carolina’s last 6 games when playing Florida.
South Carolina is 3-6 SU in its last 9 games when playing at home against Florida.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of South Carolina’s last 6 games when playing at home against Florida.
Florida is 6-0 SU when leading after two quarters this season.
Remarkably, South Carolina is winless (0-3) SU in games where it comes out ahead in the turnover battle, yet 3-1 SU when losing the turnover battle.
Dating back to last season, Florida is 10-5 SU against SEC opponents, while South Carolina is just 4-11 SU against conference foes.
The Florida rush defense is ranked 18th in the nation, and will look to contain the 59th-ranked ground attack of South Carolina.
