It’s
round two for Auburn and South Carolina, as these two faced off earlier
in the season. That meeting resulted in a come-from-behind 35-27 win
for the Tigers. Now they meet in the SEC Championship game, the first
time since 1994 Auburn has played in the Conference title matchup.
The
Tigers come in fresh of that wildly entertaining victory last week vs.
Alabama in which they overcame a 24-0 deficit. Falling behind early only
to rally for wins has become somewhat of a trademark for Auburn this
season, as they’ve done it in eight of their 12 wins.
Sportsbook
have this game set with Auburn as a 5.5-point favourite and a Total of
61.5. The Tigers have a record of 7-1 ATS versus conference opponents
this season. While Auburn fans are excitedly booking tickets to Arizona to watch their team in the BCS Championship game on January 10th,
the Gamecocks have a real shot at upending all those plans. Coach
Spurrier’s team already proved they can hang with the Tigers in that
35-27 loss in late September. It was four South Carolina turnovers that
snapped the defeat from the jaws of victory, as they let Auburn off the
hook.
The
Gamecock defense has been impressive all season, and while controlling
Cam Newton and Co. Is a very difficult proposition, if they can get some
help from the offense, they could be up for the task. First off, they
need the offense to stay on the field for long drives and not the turn
the ball over. In fact, if QB Stephen Garcia can put together a
performance similar to the first three quarters of the first meeting
(235 yards passing, 3TDs and no interceptions) they have a legitimate
shot at winning this game.
We
specifically say the first three quarters, because things got ugly for
Garcia in the fourth quarter. Not only for him but for backup QB Connor
Shaw. Why was backup QB Shaw playing? After two fumbles in the fourth,
the Old Ball Coach blew his lid and pulled Garcia, sending his backup
in. Shaw promptly threw two interceptions in the Auburn red zone,
sealing the comeback win for the Tigers.
It’s
hard to see another total fourth quarter meltdown. South Carolina
showed they can move the ball, now they just need to hang on to it. And
they are the team with the better defense in this one.
To us, that adds up to a play on the underdog Gamecocks and who knows, they could win this one straight up, creating BCS chaos.
Enjoy all the college football games. You can check the NCAA football odds