College Football Picks Against the Spread: South Carolina vs Arkansas

The focus of the country may be on the SEC, but it isn’t on this game between top-10 opponents.

No. 7 South Carolina has played Jekyll and Hyde on offense all season, putting up 45 points against a Georgia defense currently ranked seventh in the country in yards per game allowed but then putting up just 13 points at home on 74th-ranked Auburn.

The strength of the team has been in the pass defense, which ranks third in the country, but it is also important to note that only three of the quarterbacks they played against were starters last year, and Vanderbilt’s Larry Smith is just awful.

No. 8 Arkansas lives and dies on the arm of quarterback Tyler Wilson. He averaging 290 passing yards per game, and the offense is putting up 36 points per game. His favorite receiver this year has been Jarius Wright, but the Hogs have one of the deepest receiving corps in the country.

Their defense is also very underrated, with Jerry Franklin and Alonzo Highsmith at linebacker, and the Razorbacks give up 22 points per game.

But Arkansas has failed to impress in many of their wins. They only beat now 2-5 Troy by 10 points and needed major comebacks in order to beat Ole Miss and Vanderbilt on the road.

That seems more like an effort thing than anything else. With USC’s star running back Marcus Lattimore done for the season, the game being played at Arkansas and South Carolina’s top-10 ranking, effort should not be an issue for this game. The two teams will also be angry that no one is paying attention to their game.

With Arkansas being a five-point favorite, taking them in a statement game is the best bet.