Football Odds – Higher Poll Finish: Oklahoma State or South Carolina?

Let’s get some things out of the way first: South Carolina’s football program, which has never won so much as an SEC East Division championship, regularly falls short of expectations for college football odds. The Gamecocks have rarely if ever found the golden-boy quarterback or the muscular offensive line needed to overwhelm opposing defenses. Whether it’s been iconic coach Lou Holtz or iconic coach Steve Spurrier, South Carolina has retained its decades-long penchant for disappointing its ardent and loyal followers. A culture of winning and an aura of dominance have never been established in the Palmetto State, which means that a breakthrough season should never be expected from South Carolina Gamecocks. Current quarterback Stephen Garcia is a headcase who has continued to exasperate Spurrier in practice and training camp. Offensive lineman Quintin Richardson has undergone surgery and has subsequently gotten involved in unsavory off-field incidents. Tight end Weslye Saunders, a key cog in Carolina’s passing game, has violated team rules and could well miss a number of games as a result (the situation is still pending; no finite penalty has been handed down). There’s nothing to suggest that South Carolina is going to shed its label as a perennial tease, a team that can never get over the hump. 

The verdict cannot be any clearer. 

Now, with all of that having been said, here’s another clear statement to make: South Carolina will definitely finish with a higher ranking than Oklahoma State in 2010. 

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The Cowboys from the Big 12 South have been gutted by graduation. OSU returns just four starters on both offense and defense; a total of eight returning starters is no way to follow up a Cotton Bowl season with something equally successful. Coach Mike Gundy has running back Kendall Hunter… and just about nobody else. Texas and Oklahoma should whack Oklahoma State this year, and Texas A&M will be favored to take down the Cowboys, a reality that did not exist the past few seasons. Moreover, OSU’s Big 12 North games include a date with division favorite Nebraska. Even though that game’s at home in Stillwater, Oklahoma, it should still be a loss for the Oklahoma State Cowboys. This team will lose at least four games in 2010, and very possibly five. Only a cushy non-conference schedule will prop up this team’s record and preserve what will likely be a lower-tier bowl bid for the OSU crew. 

The other big reason South Carolina will finish higher on football odds – warts and all – is that the SEC East is way down this year. Tennessee has hardly any depth to speak of. Kentucky is not ready to contend for the division title. Georgia is throwing a redshirt freshman quarterback into the fire and has few proven players. Vanderbilt had little talent to begin the season, and has since lost pass-catching tight end Austin Monahan for the season. South Carolina, for all its weaknesses, should finish second in the SEC East. It will be hard for the Gamecocks to find a way to lose more than four games this year. They might try to, but they won’t “succeed.” South Carolina will finish with a better record than Oklahoma State, and hence, a higher ranking. 

Football Odds: South Carolina