ESPN FPI high on South Carolina heading into Texas A&M game
South Carolina football has a huge opportunity in front of itself this weekend. The Gamecocks will welcome top-10 opponent Texas A&M to Williams-Brice Stadium. A loss makes the home stretch increasingly important as USC seeks bowl eligibility. A win, though, keeps alive the faint hope of sneaking into the College Football Playoff.
Because of the Aggies’ big win over LSU last weekend (38-23 in College Station), some are chalking Saturday’s meeting up as a clear W for A&M. College Football Network’s Football Playoff Meter gives the Aggies better than an 80% chance at victory. Barstool’s Kayce smith caught the ire of South Carolina football fans by saying Texas A&M will win because the Gamecocks have “not a good defense.” On3 analysts Andy Staples and Ari Wasserman picked the Aggies to win and cover the spread.
ESPN’s FPI (Football Power Index) has a slightly different view of this weekend’s affair. According to the “worldwide leader,” South Carolina-Texas A&M should be an extremely competitive contest. The FPI has the game pegged as a 46-54 percentage split in favor of the Aggies. The Gamecocks sit 21st in the updated FPI (up from No. 23 last week), while Texas A&M is 12th. Given that Saturday’s game is in Columbia, the rankings difference is negligible. That is backed up by ESPN’s betting line of South Carolina +115 on the money line.
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Perhaps providing Gamecock fans with even more optimism is the fact that South Carolina is 3-1 this year against the spread as an underdog this season. To beat the spread again, the Gamecocks would have to win the game or lose by less than three points.
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ESPN also predicts that South Carolina football has a 92% chance of reaching bowl eligibility this season. Currently 4-3, USC has games against Texas A&M, Vanderbilt (on the road), Missouri, Wofford, and Clemson (on the road) remaining. The Gamecocks also are one of just two teams (along with the Virginia Tech Hokies) to have better than a 1% chance of making the College Football Playoff despite having three losses already on the season. To improve that 1% number, Shane Beamer’s team must find a way to win the Battle for the Bonham Trophy.
South Carolina and Texas A&M will play in front of a sold-out Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday. The capacity crowd will experience just the Gamecocks’ second home night game of the year. Back in 2022, the SEC foes met at night in Columbia, and the home team emerged victorious.
For fans not able to attend, the South Carolina will play in prime time on Saturday. ABC, ESPN+, and the ESPN app will broadcast or stream the Gamecocks and Aggies starting at 7:30 p.m.
