South Carolina and Vanderbilt continue to be the surprises of the SEC this season, but which one can beat the other?

The Commodores qualified for the bowl after another conference win, this time with Auburn on the road, and they returned home as underdogs once again against an elite South Carolina defense. The Gamecocks earned a blowout win over College Football Playoff hopeful Texas A&M and are one game away from making the bowl.

How can we thwart this SEC matchup with surprising intrigue?

Here’s our full preview.

Radiate

money line

Total: 45.5 (Above -110/Under -110)

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

South Carolina

LaNorris Dealers: The freshman had his best game of the season Saturday night at Columbia, passing for 244 yards while adding another 106 yards on the ground for three touchdowns. He will look to continue building positive momentum on the road against a Vanderbilt defense that has been more than capable against the run this season.

vanderbilt

Diego Pavia: Rumors were swirling about Pavia’s health heading into the Auburn game, and although Pavia was by no means at his best, he guided the Commodores to another win in SEC play. Pavia completed only 40% of his passes but did not get sacked and did not turn the ball over while still keeping the Commodores’ offense on schedule and in position to win games.

South Carolina’s defensive line will look to cause damage against a potentially faltering Pavia on Saturday, which is definitely a must-watch game.

The Gamecocks defensive line is elite; He ranks fourth in the nation in sacks and 13th in EPA/Play. If the team can get to Pavia and put the Commodores behind the sticks, sledding could be a challenge for this Vandy offense, which depends on proper landings and distances as the unit is not overly explosive.

As for the other side of the ball, I’ll look at Sellers and the Gamecocks’ epic game last week when the team had the advantage against the Texas A&M defense on smoke in a hostile environment.

South Carolina’s offense was pretty poor throughout the rest of the season. The unit ranks 96th in EPA/Play and allows the most sacks in the country, but most importantly, it can’t get good on early downs.

South Carolina ranks 128th in the country in average third down yardage and 79th in third down conversion percentage, which will make life difficult against a Vanderbilt defense that has been shaky on third down this season.

I believe this game could be determined by field position as both offenses struggled to find ground from start to finish.

SELECTION: UNDER 45.5

Match odds are updated periodically and may change.

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