The No. 3 Clemson Tigers (+25.5) aren’t traveling far to battle the South Carolina Gamecocks at Williams-Brice Stadium. ESPN will televise the action and kickoff is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. ET.
Betting Preview: Clemson Tigers vs. South Carolina Gamecocks
Clemson is the heavy road favorite and is currently giving up 25.5 points to South Carolina. Oddsmakers have placed the over/under (O/U) at 51.5 points, and if one side can create a bunch of points early, it will likely generate a solid betting opportunity in-game.
This game’s over/under hasn’t changed after it was set initially at 51.5. Having said that, the line opened at 24.5 so has recently moved up to 25.5.
The Tigers are 8-3 against the spread (ATS) and have gained 1.0 unit this season. The team’s posted an O/U record of 5-6.
The lackluster Gamecocks have lost 10.3 units this year. The team is 5-6 ATS and has an O/U record of 4-7.
The Tigers are 11-0 straight up (SU) in 2019 while the Gamecocks are 4-7 SU.
The Tigers are hoping to stay undefeated after a 52-3 win over Wake Forest on November 16. the Tigers completed 26-of-35 passes for 348 yards, five touchdowns and one interception. Trevor Lawrence went 21-for-27 for 272 yards and four touchdowns while Chase Brice completed five-of-eight for 76 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Travis Etienne (121 yards on 16 rush attempts, one TD) provided the running attack in the win while Tee Higgins (four receptions, 64 yards, three TDs) and Diondre Overton (four catches, 52 yards) manned the receiving duties.
South Carolina most-recently lost an ugly 30-6 game to Texas A&M a couple of weeks ago. The team’s defensive unit let the Aggies eat up the clock by rushing for 319 yards on 46 attempts, including two rush TDs. Cordarrian Richardson had a productive outing in the win for Texas A&M, recording 130 rushing yards and a score on six attempts, along with 17 yards on one catch. For South Carolina, Ryan Hilinski completed 16-of-41 passes for 175 yards. Rico Dowdle (12 rushing yards on seven attempts) mounted the ground game in the defeat while Kyle Markway (five receptions, 47 yards) and Dowdle (four catches, 10 yards) led the pass-catching attack.
Clemson has run the ball on 54 percent of its offensive possessions this year while South Carolina has a rush percentage of 45.7 percent. The Tigers have rushed for 260.5 yards per game and have 34 scores via handoffs this year. The Gamecocks are logging 157 rush yards per game and have 18 total rushing TDs.
Based on the results so far, it seems like the Tigers could hold an advantage when it comes to RB efficiency, since their running backs has generated 6.6 yards per carry while the defense is allowing 2.9 YPC to opponents. The Gamecocks have ran for 4.7 yards per carry and allowed 4.1 YPC to opponents.
The Tigers offense has tallied 282.5 yards/game in the air overall and has 31 passing scores so far. The Gamecocks have recorded 232.9 pass yards per game and have 12 total pass TDs.
Defensively, Clemson seems to have the upper hand in both facets. The team has allowed opponents to rush for an average of 109.7 yards and throw for 128.5 yards per game. The South Carolina defense has given up 227.9 yards per game to opposing passers and 153.2 yards per game to opposing runners. The Tigers are allowing an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of just 2.40 to opponents, while the Gamecocks have given up a 5.79 ANY/A.
Offensively, Lawrence has put up 2,299 passing yards this season, and has connected on 67 percent of his 252 attempts with 24 passing scores and eight interceptions. He’s got a pristine 9.05 adjusted net yards per pass attempt overall, although that number sits at 11.33 over the past two outings.
Ryan Hilinski has connected on 188-of-322 passes for 1,927 yards, 10 TDs and three INTs for South Carolina. His ANY/A sits at 5.66 for the year and 4.47 across his last two outings.
These two teams faced off last year with the final outcome being a 56-35 win for Clemson.
Clemson Tigers vs. South Carolina Gamecocks NCAA Pick
SU Winner: South Carolina, ATS Winner: South Carolina, O/U: Over
Team Betting Notes
- The Clemson defense has 34 sacks on the year while South Carolina has just 23.
- South Carolina has lost seven fumbles this season while Clemson has lost four.
- The Tigers offense has created nine pass plays of 40 or more yards, while the Gamecocks have accounted for six such plays.
- The Clemson defense has allowed five pass plays of 40+ yards, while South Carolina has given up six such plays.
- The Clemson offense has created 23 rushing plays of 20 or more yards, while South Carolina has created 18 such runs.
- The Tigers defense has allowed eight rushing plays of 20 or more yards, while the Gamecocks have given up 16 such runs.
- The O/U for South Carolina’s previous matchup was set at 47. The under cashed in the 30-6 defeat to Texas A&M.
- In its last three games, South Carolina is 1-2 ATS and the under cashed in each of those three.
- In its last three matchups, Clemson is 2-1 ATS and the over cashed in two of those three.
- South Carolina has dropped five of its last six games SU, with a 17-point triumph over Vanderbilt on November 2nd accounting for the one win over that stretch.
- The O/U for Clemson’s last game going into it was 58.5. The under cashed in the team’s 52-3 victory over Wake Forest.
- Clemson has averaged 7.2 yards per rush attempt over its past three outings and 5.2 over its last two.
- South Carolina has averaged 2.9 yards per carry over its last three games and 1.5 over its last two.
