Georgia vs. South Carolina picks, predictions: Week 3 college football odds, lines
This week brings us the SEC opener on the gridiron between an East Division hopeful and the back-to-back defending national champions as Georgia welcomes division rival South Carolina between the hedges in college football's Week 3 action on Saturday.
It's been an eventful two weeks for the Gamecocks, who absorbed nine sacks against a UNC defense that was among the nation's worst a year ago, and will have to dramatically better coordinate its blocking efforts if quarterback Spencer Rattler is to realize any of the potential that made him a five-star recruit not long ago.
Carolina trailed Furman in the 2nd quarter of last week's game before Rattler led four scoring drives and LaNorris Sellers posted two more touchdowns in a 47-21 victory. Rattler accounted for four all-purpose touchdowns in the game and passed for 345 yards with no interceptions and is good for 83 percent of his throws on the year.
As expected, Georgia has discarded UT Martin and Ball State with ease, outscoring the two 93 to 10 with solid early returns on quarterback Carson Beck, who has 577 passing yards so far while hitting 72 percent of his pass attempts for three touchdowns.
What do the experts think of the matchup? Let's see how the College Football Power Index computer prediction model projects the game.
Georgia vs. South Carolina picks, predictions
Georgia vs. South Carolina picks, predictions
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Georgia odds: Quite a wide margin for an SEC game, but the index forecasts that the Bulldogs have a 91.8 percent chance to win the game outright, according to the model that picks winners by simulating games 20,000 times.
South Carolina odds: Conversely, the Gamecocks have the 8.2 percent chance to pull off the upset on the road and avoid falling to 1-2 on the year.
Point spread: Georgia comes into the game as 27.5 point favorites against South Carolina, according to the lines at SI Sportsbook. (Track it live)
Total: 54.5 points (Over -120, Under -105)
Georgia predictions: The index named the Bulldogs as the No. 3 team nationally on its latest 133 college football rankings, owing to the model's projection that the team will be 24.5 points better than an average opponent. The index predicts Georgia will win 11.1 games this season and has an 11.5 percent chance to win the national title, also third-best nationally.
South Carolina predictions: FPI rates the Gamecocks as the No. 44 team in the country, expected to be 5.5 points better than an average team, and projects to win 5.5 games this season.
Georgia vs. South Carolina schedule
When: Sat., Sept. 16
Time: 3:30 p.m. Eastern
TV: CBS network
Stream: fuboTV (Try for free)
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College Football Power Index
Football Power Index (FPI) college football rankings and computer prediction model are a measure of team strength that predicts a team’s future performance.
Rankings and scores predictions are based on 20,000 simulations of a team’s season, using a combination of analytics, including scores to date, quality of opponents, and a team’s schedule.
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College football rankings
More: A closer look at the AP top 25
First-place votes in parentheses
- Georgia (55)
- Michigan (2)
- Florida State (3)
- Texas (2)
- USC
- Ohio State
- Penn State
- Washington
- Notre Dame
- Alabama
- Tennessee
- Utah
- Oregon
- LSU
- Kansas State
- Oregon State
- Ole Miss
- Colorado
- Oklahoma
- North Carolina
- Duke
- Miami
- Washington State
- UCLA
- Iowa
More college football from SI: Top 25 Rankings | Schedule | Teams