South Carolina vs. Kentucky Total Pick
The Kentucky Wildcats are 4-0 and have already pulled off a couple of nice upsets. Now a small home favorite, the Wildcats will host the South Carolina Gamecocks at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. Will the matchup turn out to be a defensive struggle or will the offenses shine?
Game Snapshot
141 South Carolina Gamecocks at 142 Kentucky Wildcats
7:30 p.m. ET, Saturday, September 29, 2018
Kroger Field, Lexington, Kentucky
Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetNow.eu, the Wildcats are 1-point favorites to beat the Gamecocks. The total, meanwhile, sits at 51 points. As of this writing, 64% of the public betting tickets wagered on this matchup are on the Wildcats.
South Carolina Gamecocks
South Carolina sophomore WR OrTre Smith will undergo knee surgery and is expected to miss the remainder of the campaign. Smith (6’4/217) did not suffer the injury in a specific game. Rather, Gamecocks HC Will Muschamp referred to it as a “genetic issue” that causes the kneecap to partially dislocate. Ouch. He’ll go under the knife next week. The big-bodied wideout wraps the truncated campaign having caught three passes for 25 yards in two games. His loss thins South Carolina’s receiving depth, but doesn’t figure to have a major tangible impact on the onfield product.
Kentucky Wildcats
Mississippi State redshirt senior QB Nick Fitzgerald completed 16-of-32 passes for 145 yards, no touchdowns and one interception in Saturday’s 28-7 loss at Kentucky and he rushed for one score. The No. 14 Bulldogs hit the road for Lexington and were unable to deal the Wildcats their first loss of the season. Kentucky’s defense was surprisingly stout, limiting Mississippi State to just the one Fitzgerald rushing score. It was an especially surprising result considering Mississippi State entered the game averaging 50.0 points per game. The Bulldogs will look to bounce back next Saturday at home against old coach Dan Mullen and the Florida Gators.
Betting Trends
South Carolina
The under is 15-5 in the Gamecocks’ last 20 conference games.
Kentucky
The over is 5-2 in the Wildcats’ last seven home games.
Prediction
Kentucky pulled off the upset last Saturday night against Mississippi State and the Wildcats did it, in large part, because of their defense. South Carolina signal-caller Jake Bentley rebounded from a bad performance against Georgia with a 261-yard, one-touchdown effort in a 37-14 victory over Vanderbilt but he still missed a few throws and also tossed a pick. If the Wildcats can hold Nick Fitzgerald at bay, they should be able to put together a nice performance versus Bentley as well. Meanwhile, Kentucky wants to keep the ball on the ground with BennySnell, who has a chance to lead the SEC in rushing this year. This is a perfect recipe for under bettors on Saturday night, as the Wildcats want to lean on their running game and defense to beat South Carolina.
College Football Prediction: South Carolina/Kentucky under 51