Pair of national voices pick Gamecocks to upset Auburn
The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel and Bruce Feldman have been covering football for a long time, more than two decades for each of them. They share a podcast and help lead their site’s coverage of the sport.
And both of them like South Carolina’s football team to pull off the upset the weekend against Auburn.
The Tigers are three-point favorites in Williams-Brice Stadium and have not lost to the Gamecocks since 1933. Will Muschamp’s squad is coming off a blowout of Vanderbilt for its frist win of 2020, while Gus Malzahn’s Auburn squad pulled off a narrow escape against Arkansas last week.
The Tigers are No. 15 in the country in the AP poll and the Gamecocks only have two ranked wins in the Will Muschamp era, but Auburn’s shakiness makes it an interesting matchup:
Feldman:
“I figured I was going to pick Auburn, but the more I thought about it, I’ll go with the Gamecocks, who have a pretty solid defense (or at least we think so),” Feldman wrote. “They are No. 1 in the SEC in third-down D by a sizable margin. The Tigers’ run game got going last week behind a totally rebuilt offensive line, but it did nothing the first two weeks. South Carolina 20, Auburn 17”
Mandel:
“After watching much of Auburn’s first three games, I’ve come to the conclusion that the Tigers might not be very good,” Mandel wrote. “They’re fortunate not to be 1-2, and Bo Nix is near the bottom of the SEC in pass efficiency. They may still be better than South Carolina, but this feels like a good spot for the Gamecocks to get in a win. South Carolina 23, Auburn 20”
The Gamecocks are coming off two weeks on the road. Kickoff is at noon.
Next USC football game
Who: Auburn at South Carolina
When: Noon Saturday, Oct. 17
Where: Williams-Brice Stadium
TV: ESPN
