SEC football gets underway this weekend as No. 23 Missouri hits the road against No. 21 South Carolina. Here’s what you need to pay attention to, along with our updated predictions for the match.

South Carolina has been on a roll lately, winning three straight games, averaging 36 points each time during that stretch, and currently working behind one of the best defensive units in college football.

Missouri improved to 3-2 in the SEC after beating Oklahoma last week and, while it wasn’t quite what they expected after winning 11 games a year ago, it There’s still a path to the College Football Playoff if the Tigers can win the game. rest of the way.

What can we expect as the Gamecocks host the Tigers in this SEC clash?

Here’s what you need to watch as South Carolina and Missouri meet in this Week 12 college football matchup, along with our updated prediction for the matchup.

1. Fight in front. South Carolina’s calling card remains this fierce seven-man defensive front, ranking third nationally with 33 total sacks this season while averaging 3.67 sacks per game.

The Gamecocks are also top 15 in the FBS with 69 tackles for loss and 7th with 7.67 negative plays per game, ranking 3rd in denying opponents 353 total yards as a result of these stops.

Missouri is just 77th nationally, allowing 2.22 sacks per game and 20 sacks this season, and 43rd in the nation, with 45 tackles for loss this year and 5 negative plays per game.

2. Air it out. Drew Pyne is expected to step in at quarterback for Missouri with starter Brady Cook still dealing with injuries, and while he has two of the nation’s biggest threats at his disposal in Luther Burden and Theo Wease, the Gamecocks were stingy against the pass. .

Carolina ranks 33rd in FBS, allowing just over 194 passing yards per game, holding opposing quarterbacks to just 55.8 percent completions, intercepting 11 passes and giving up just 7 touchdowns in the tunes.

Burden and Wease will be the best receivers on the field in this game, but Missouri will need to get the ball to them quickly to counter the Gamecocks’ pass rush on the edges.

3. Grind and pound. South Carolina has significantly improved its blocking since the off week, allowing no sacks in that span after giving up 10 before that point, and the result is a more efficient offense, especially when it comes to to manage the football.

Raheim Sanders is coming off his second and third straight game with 100 rushing yards and 5 of his 10 touchdowns have come in his last three appearances.

Gamecocks quarterback LaNorris Sellers is also an effective threat on the ground, ranking second on the team in rushing with 4 of the team’s 18 rushing touchdowns.

Missouri is respectable but not spectacular in its rush defense, ranking 52nd nationally in allowing 133 yards per game and just under 4 yards per carry with just 10 touchdowns allowed, and 9 of those came during of the team’s 2 defeats.

Most football prediction computer models are siding with the Gamecocks over the Tigers this week.

This includes the College Football Power Index, a computer prediction model that uses data points from both teams to simulate games 20,000 times to select winners.

South Carolina comes out on top in the majority of 69.6 percent of computer simulations of the game.

The remaining 30.4 percent of simulations predict the Tigers will pull off the upset and avoid a third loss.

How does this translate to expected margin of victory in the game?

South Carolina should be 7.4 points better than Missouri on the same field in both teams’ current form, according to the model’s latest predictions.

Rounding that number up, let’s call it a touchdown game in favor of the Gamecocks according to this projection.

More… South Carolina vs. Missouri Prediction: What the Analytics Say

South Carolina is a 13.5-point favorite against Missouri, according to updated lines posted on FanDuel Sportsbook.

FanDuel lists the total at 41.5 points for the game (Over -110, Under -110).

And that set the money odds for South Carolina at -630 and Missouri at +450 to win outright.

The most important matchup in this game will be Carolina’s defensive front against Missouri’s blockers, and while the Gamecocks should win in the trenches, the Tigers are capable enough of holding on for a while to slow down in some measures these edge rushers.

Missouri has the ability to slightly disrupt Carolina’s attempt to control the game by running the ball and forcing Sellers to throw the ball a little more than Shane Beamer would prefer.

But the Tigers’ quarterback situation is precarious enough that they can confidently go against their strong receivers and avoid doing enough damage to pull off an upset here.

College football HQ chooses…

More… South Carolina vs. Missouri Score Prediction by Expert Football Model

When: Saturday November 16
Time: 4:15 p.m. Eastern
Television: SEC network

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Game odds are updated periodically and are subject to change.

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