South Carolina opens as a double-digit underdog against Kentucky in SEC football clash
Like many South Carolina fans, the bookmakers in Las Vegas were not impressed with the Gamecocks’ performance in Week 1.
After coming into its season opener against Old Dominion as nearly 21-point favorites, South Carolina squeaked out a 23-19 victory against its Sun Belt opponents. The Gamecocks trailed by a field goal with less than 10 minutes to play before edge rusher Dylan Stewart forced a fumble and quarterback LaNorris Sellers ran in the game-winning touchdown.
It was an unexpected early-season scare for the Gamecocks. And it didn’t give the oddsmakers much confidence in South Carolina heading into Week 2.
In its betting lines released on Sunday afternoon, Circa Sports has South Carolina as 10-point underdogs for its game at Kentucky. DraftKings had UK as a 7-point favorite initially, but that line quickly grew to 9 points.
The Wildcats are coming off a dominating 31-0 win over another Sun Belt team, Southern Mississippi. And that score could have been even worse, but the game was called with 10 minutes left in the third quarter because of lightning.
Even in a shortened contest, the Wildcats still compiled 317 total yards and 19 first downs. For reference, in a full game, South Carolina tallied 288 total yards and 18 first downs.
The Gamecocks, though, have had success against Kentucky under coach Shane Beamer. After losing 16-10 to the Wildcats in 2021, South Carolina has won its last two contests against Mark Stoops’ squad. In 2022, USC won by double digits in Lexington, then beat the Wildcats by a field goal late last season.
OTHER WEEK 2 SEC BETTING LINES (VIA CIRCA SPORTS)
Texas (-5) at Michigan, 12 p.m. ET
Arkansas (+9) at Oklahoma State, 12 p.m. ET
California at Auburn (-13), 3:30 p.m. ET
Middle Tennessee State at Ole Miss (-38), 4:15 p.m. ET
South Florida at Alabama (-32), 7 p.m. ET
Buffalo at Missouri (-31), 7 p.m. ET
Tennessee (-6) vs N.C. State (in Charlotte), 7:30 p.m. ET
Houston at Oklahoma (-26), 7:45 p.m. ET
Mississippi State (+3) at Arizona State, 10:30 p.m. ET
