South Carolina-Charlotte opening line released, Gamecocks are massive favorites
South Carolina football opened as a 21-point favorite over Charlotte when opening lines were released by Circa Sports on Sunday afternoon.
The book set the over/under at 60 1/2 points for the matchup, which is set for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff in Columbia on Saturday, Sept. 24 with ESPNU carrying the telecast.
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The Gamecocks, 1-2 overall and 0-2 in the SEC, are coming off a 48-7 loss to No. 1 Georgia on Saturday afternoon.
Charlotte, after starting 0-3, is celebrating an important victory as the 49ers knocked off Carolina’s Week 1 opponent, Georgia State, 42-41 on Saturday night.
The Gamecocks opened the year with a 35-14 win over Georgia State before losing 44-30 to Arkansas in Fayetteville.
WIN! Framed picture of Williams-Brice Stadium signed by George Rogers
Charlotte struggled out of the gate, dropping its first three games to Florida Atlantic, William and Mary and Maryland before grabbing the win over Shawn Elliott’s Panthers. Charlotte QB Chris Reynolds threw for 401 yards and five touchdowns in the win.
ESPN’s FPI gives South Carolina a 91.8 percent chance of winning the game.
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Gamecocks struggle on third downs in loss to Georgia
By Michael Sauls
South Carolina emphasizes a lot of things for winning football with one of those being third down efficiency.
But of the issues that were evident in the Gamecocks’ 48-7 loss to SEC-rival Georgia on Saturday, execution on third downs may have been one of the more glaring ones.
“Certainly we got to be better on third down than what we were, if you’re 4-for-13 you’re not good enough,” Shane Beamer said.
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The Gamecocks only converted on 30 percent of their third-down attempts against Georgia, So far this season, South Carolina has been faced with 37 third-down opportunities and only converted 10 of them.
“Give Georgia some credit. I mean, they’re really good on third down when they get you in those situations, “Beamer said. “Just got to continue to – what we call – be able to execute it better than what we did today.”
South Carolina’s struggle with third downs can also be blamed on a lack of consistency on first and second-down plays.
