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The South Carolina Gamecocks (1-0) and Kentucky Wildcats (1-0) meet at Kroger Field in Lexington, Ky. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET (ABC/ESPN+). Below, we analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s lines around the South Carolina vs. Kentucky odds, and make our expert college football picks and predictions.
The Gamecocks struggled in the opener with Old Dominion last Saturday, eking out a 23-19 win as 20.5-point favorites while the Under (49) connected. The Monarchs actually led 19-16 late into the 4th quarter before RB Lanorris Sellers found the end zone on a 3-yard run to put South Carolina up 23-19 for the win.
The Wildcats rolled Southern Miss 31-0 as a 24.5-point favorite as the Under (49) cashed. QB Brock Vandagriff threw for 169 yards and 3 TD, while running for 35 yards, and he had an INT to his ledger. Kentucky limited the Golden Eagles to just 5 rushing yards on 12 attempts, while allowing only 126 passing yards.
South Carolina has won and covered the past 2 meetings in this series, including a 24-14 win in Lexington Oct. 8, 2022, in the most recent visit. Kentucky is 7-3 straight up (SU) and against the spread (ATS) in the past 10 in the series, however. The Under is 3-0 in the past 3 meetings, and 8-1 in the previous 9 encounters.
– Rankings: US LBM Coaches Poll, conducted by the American Football Coaches Association and USA TODAY Sports (new rankings to be released Monday afternoon)
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South Carolina at Kentucky odds
Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Friday at 7:01 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): South Carolina +270 (bet $100 to win $270) | Kentucky -350 (bet $350 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): South Carolina +8.5 (-106) | Kentucky -8.5 (-114)
- Over/Under (O/U): 42.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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South Carolina at Kentucky picks and predictions
Prediction
Kentucky 24, South Carolina 13
Moneyline
Backing Kentucky (-350) will cost you 3 1/2 times your potential return, and that’s not a recommended wager either by itself or as part of a multi-leg parlay.
As bad as South Carolina (+270) looked against ODU in the opener, it has won and covered the past 2 meetings, so that is a slight concern.
PASS.
Against the spread
Play KENTUCKY -8.5 (-114), although this is a rather strange number to lay. These games are generally closer, and 2 of the past 3 in the series have been decided by 1 score.
However, South Carolina +8.5 (-106) had difficulty moving the ball against Old Dominion. It is going to have a whale of a time trying to figure out the suffocating defense of the Wildcats. That is where the game will be won for UK.
Over/Under
The UNDER 42.5 (-110) is the best play on the board.
When these 2 SEC teams get together, we get old-school football. Defense reigns supreme, and it isn’t always pretty. The Under has cashed in each of the past 3 meetings in the series, with the winning side averaging just 19.0 points per game (PPG), and the losing side coming up with just 12.7 PPG.
In fact, the Under has hit in 8 of the past 9 in the series, with the losing team scoring 18 or fewer points in each of the past 8 meetings.
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