South Carolina Gamecocks College Football Betting
Just how crazy is the 2020 college football season? Well, how about a 2-win team playing in a bowl game. With games getting shuttered and teams opting out of playing in the postseason over COVID concerns, the NCAA dropped bowl eligibility requirements. That opened the door for the South Carolina Gamecocks to get back on the field and they gladly accepted an offer to play the Conference USA champion UAB Blazers in the Gasparilla Bowl. The Cocks are hoping for better results outside the Southeastern Conference. Playing a league-only slate they ended the regular season with six straight losses and finished at 2-8.
South Carolina Gamecocks Season
South Carolina Gamecocks +6.5
UAB Blazers -6.5
Total 47
South Carolina Gamecocks Season Review
Other than being one of two SEC teams to complete their 2020 season as planned, not a lot went right for the Gamecocks. They will get a chance to end it on a positive note, though, with one more game added to the slate. It seemed like this wouldn’t happen especially the way the regular season ended. The Cocks limped home on a six-game SU and ATS losing streak. There were happier times early in the season that included a win over ranked Auburn. Then the losing started, Will Muschamp was fired seven games in and players started jumping ship. The Cocks ended the season with walk-ons starting on defense.
Lameduck coach Mike Bobo said there wasn’t a vote among the players. He told them when to show up for practice and the ones that did will be playing against UAB in the 13th Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl on Saturday, December 26. Game time is scheduled for 12 p.m. ET from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida with ABC supplying television coverage.
Bobo was handed the interim tag after Muschamp was fired following a 59-42 loss to Ole Miss. The team then had several players leave the program leaving them shorthanded for the remaining three games. Things went as expected with the Cocks losing all three getting outscored 103-44. Bobo will take point for the bowl game despite the hiring of Oklahoma assistant Shane Beamer as the new head coach. This game could be an audition for Bobo to remain on the staff. It’s also a chance for the current crop of players to show Beamer what they can do.
Offense has been an issue for South Carolina all season and to make matters worse leading receiver Shi Smith will not be available. Even with their outburst against Ole Miss when they scored 42 points and amassed 548 total yards, the Cocks ranked near the bottom of the SEC and the FBS in most major statistical categories. They averaged just 14.7 points over their last three games and put up 23.5 per game for the year. The passing game never got on track averaging less than 200 yards and they totaled just of 355.1 yards per game. You can get by with those numbers if the defense is great. South Carolina wasn’t close to being that good.
The biggest weapon is Kevin Harris, who became the ninth SC back to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season. He got there by going for 210 yards against Kentucky, reaching the milestone in 10 games all against SEC opponents. Harris finished second in the SEC in total rushing yards and rushing yards per game and twice had over 200 yards in a game.
The Blazers won their second C-USA title in three years by knocking off Marshall 22-13. They boast one of the top defenses in the country allowing just 4.7 yards per play. UAB won’t wow you on offense choosing instead to grind it out with workhorse back Spencer Brown, who had 149 yards on 30 carries against Marshall’s second-best run defense.
South Carolina Gamecocks Weekly Recap
It looked like the Cocks were going to have some success this season. The played what appeared to be a good Tennessee team tight in a 31-27 loss in the opener and covered the spread in a 38-24 setback to Florida. A win over Vandy followed by an upset over then No. 15 Auburn had the Cocks at 2-2 and feeling pretty good about themselves. However, for the second year in a row they failed to build off a big win and tip-toed through the remainder of the campaign.
A 41-18 loss to Kentucky in the final regular season game sent South Carolina to its sixth consecutive defeat, just the fourth time in program history the Cocks lost that many games in a row. Interim coach Bobo became lameduck coach Bobo when the school announced the hiring of Beamer. It’s been a whirlwind season for Bobo, who came to Columbia as the offensive coordinator.
The Kentucky game played out similar to others during the losing streak. The Cocks committed four turnovers thwarting drives and the makeshift defense crumbled under a constant Wildcats barrage. Harris ran for 210 yards and the teams combined for nearly 600 yards on the ground. Turnovers were the difference. The Cocks couldn’t get a takeaway to level the field and failed to cover the 11.5-point spread.
2020 South Carolina Gamecocks Schedule
| Date |
Opponent |
Score |
| Sep 26 |
vs. Tennessee |
L 27-31 |
| Oct 3 |
@ Florida |
L 24-38 |
| Oct 10 |
@ Vanderbilt |
W 41-7 |
| Oct 17 |
vs. Auburn |
W 30-22 |
| Oct 24 |
@ LSU |
L 24-52 |
| Nov 7 |
vs. Texas A&M |
L 3-48 |
| Nov 14 |
@ Ole Miss |
L 42-59 |
| Nov 21 |
vs Missouri |
L 10-17 |
| Nov 28 |
vs Georgia |
L 16-45 |
| Dec 5 |
@ Kentucky |
L 18-41 |
NCAA Football Teams
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