South Carolina football at lowest point spread against Texas A&M in four years
South Carolina football has a chance to make history this weekend when permanent SEC West Division rival Texas A&M visits Columbia on Saturday night.
And so far, from a gambling perspective, Las Vegas sportsbooks and their bettors like the Gamecocks’ chances of scoring their first-ever win against the Aggies.
Texas A&M is a perfect 8-0 against South Carolina since joining the SEC but is favored by just three points entering this weekend’s matchup, according to VegasInsider’s latest consensus line.
That’s a 16.5-point drop from last year’s spread against Texas A&M, the closest spread in the series since 2018 and only the second time in the last seven meetings the Aggies have been favored by fewer than eight points against South Carolina.
As of Wednesday afternoon, South Carolina has picked up 90% of money on against-the-spread bets, meaning bettors are placing serious cash on USC to stay within three points of Texas A&M or win the game, per VegasInsider.
South Carolina has also picked up 71% of the money line (or straight-up win-loss) bets, meaning a clear majority of money-line bettors foresee USC beating Texas A&M outright.
The Aggies were favored by a whopping 19.5 points leading into the 2021 in College Station, Texas, which tied the 2016 spread for the largest in series history, per Odds Shark data.
Texas A&M blew out South Carolina 44-14 that day, easily covering the 19.5-point spread with a 30-point victory and handing the Gamecocks their worst loss to date of the Shane Beamer era.
This weekend’s spread is indicative of what’s changed since then.
South Carolina (4-2, 1-2 SEC) won at No. 13 Kentucky two weeks ago and needs just two wins over its final six games to clinch bowl eligibility for a second-straight season under Beamer.
A win over Texas A&M would also give USC four straight wins for the first time since 2013 (six) and five wins in seven games for the first time since the 2017 season.
South Carolina is tied for third among teams receiving votes outside of the Top 25 in this week’s AP poll and fourth among teams receiving votes in this week’s USA Today Sports AFCA Coaches poll.
As for the Aggies: They’re 3-3, 1-2 in the SEC and unranked halfway through what’s been quite the turbulent fifth season for former Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher.
Texas A&M signed the country’s No. 1 ranked 2022 recruiting class and entered the season ranked No. 6 in the AP Top 25. The Aggies have been on a roller coaster ever since, dropping from No. 6 from No. 24 to No. 17 to ultimately unranked in the poll for a third week.
Texas A&M and South Carolina have each picked up 50% of the bets against the spread but, as previously mentioned, 90% of that overall money is going toward a Gamecocks cover.
Both teams are 3-3 against the spread this season. South Carolina is 2-2 against the spread at home, and Texas A&M is 2-1 against the spread in road/neutral site games.
For money-line bets, or straight-up win-loss bets, South Carolina is also trending positively with bettors heading into Saturday night’s SEC game (7:37 p.m., SEC Network).
The Gamecocks have 71% of the bets and 46% of the money as a +159 odds underdog. That means you’d win an extra $159 and net $259 if you put down $100 on a USC win.
ESPN’s Football Power Index gives Texas A&M a 53.7% chance to win the game, something the Aggies have done without fail since the teams’ first ever meeting in 2014, which was also one of the first major events broadcast on the fledgling SEC Network.
South Carolina, still in the Steve Spurrier era at the time, was ranked No. 9 in the country, riding an 18-game home win streak and favored by nine points when it hosted No. 21 Texas A&M in a Thursday night season opener.
But the Aggies routed the Gamecocks 52-28, scoring touchdowns on seven of their first 11 possessions. They’ve gone on to win the next seven games in the series, too, three of those by seven points or fewer in 2015, 2017 and 2018.
SEC Week 8 odds
UT Martin at No. 3 Tennessee (N/A)
No. 7 Ole Miss at LSU (-1.5)
Vanderbilt at Missouri (-14)
No. 24 Mississippi State at No. 6 Alabama (-21)
Texas A&M (-3) at South Carolina
Idle: Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky
This story was originally published October 19, 2022 at 4:28 PM.
