Welcome to College Football “Throwdown Thursday”. Every week this College Football Season, right here at Pregame.com, I will be providing you my personal in-depth analysis and selection on the premiere College Football Match-up of the night, absolutely free. This weekend marks my 22nd Annual Season for wagering on College Football and I look forward to pounding the books, and bringing my top selections to you every week.
I am not the first to come up with this idea of a Thursday Night breakdown; however, I have been beating the books on Thursday Nights for many years, and rest assured you can look upon this blog with confidence every Thursday for expert advice and analysis. In addition to CFB “Throwdown Thursday” you can expect the same thing for your end of the week betting action, with my NFL “Monday Night Mania”. So, you get the two most coveted days in the business with full analysis and free selection, just for stopping in every week of the season.
If you are unfamiliar with me or my work here at pregame, well I predate this site going back to Johnny D’s Let it Ride & Post Your Plays in ‘03, but I first started posting a year or so earlier at a message forum board at Vegasinsider. I was raised in a family that took action in Northern Illinois for decades. So, I grew up in the business and started wagering and running numbers in ‘87. Some kids had paper routes; my route was collecting lottery slips for family. So, needless to say I’ve been around numbers for quite sometime now. I am also a developer and owner of my own website and regular contributor here at pregame.
This year I wish you all the very best success and hope that you will put your confidence in my ability throughout this season. If you would like to follow me for late action plays that could be released as much 5 minutes before kick-off on my “Late Line Bookie Plays” follow me at twitter@SIG_SteamMoves. These plays will be information that I receive from my book sources throughout Chicago and the Northern Illinois Region that I get late and will release free as always, but will be more effective via twitter. So, feel free to jump on board with this information and many other valuable weekly tweets.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL THROWDOWN THURSDAY ![]()
Southern Miss -vs- South Carolina (45 / 14): Steve Spurrier has taken over the play calling duties of an offense that has been floundering over the past two seasons. On a positive note the defense has withstood the test of the SEC ranking as one of the very best in the nation, led by a ball-hawking secondary and deep front line.
Tonight they will get a real test from a Larry Fedora Offense in Southern Miss with Austin Davis at the helm. Davis, who finished last season hurt and missed the final seven games, is a proficient passer with excellent pocket presence. If Davis falters, Fedora has a viable back-up in Martevious Young. Young was exceptional last season with 16TD’s / 3 INT’s and a 101.4 passer rating in relief of Davis.
On the other side of the ball Stephen Garcia looks to recover from a horrendous sophomore drubbing at the hands of the SEC. The Gamecocks certainly can’t go anywhere but up from an offense that ranked 82nd overall. When the Gamecocks had no success through the air, the rushing attack was a less than amiable replacement.
This season they get true freshman national recruit Marcus Lattimore, South Carolina’s Mr. Football, which will guide this rushing attack with size, speed and pass catching ability. Everything I hear is saying he is the real deal, look for big things from the Power I formation and a new Wild Gamecock formation that is sure to move the ball with more success this season.
In the Golden Eagle camp things may not look so bright with a very inexperienced offensive line that has a few JUCO transfers to fill the gaps of 4 offensive linemen that moved on. This Southern Miss squad does have some quality returning skill positions with the likes of DeAndre Brown at WR and Korey Williams at LB, both players on the All-American watch lists.
The Golden Eagles will be looking for a replacement at the RB slot, and it will be interesting to see who stands out against an SEC defense that will certainly be their biggest challenge of the season. Look for a solid performance from VJ Floyd. This gamecock defense will be competing against Alabama and Florida for tops in the SEC this season.
Golden Eagles closed out last season on a 5 of 7 ATS streak while the Gamecocks managed only 2 of 6 down the stretch. Neither team fared well closing out with ugly bowl losses. Golden Eagles lost one in the second half to Middle Tennessee St in New Orleans, while the Gamecocks were handled by UConn Huskies team that was playing for fallen teammate in the Papa Johns Bowl.
Tonight will be all about match-ups and I feel the upper hand will rest with the South Carolina defense, but the Eagles will manage a few points as they find some success with dump off passes for some heavy gains. Look for a big game from DE Cliff Matthews and CB Stephon Gilmore.
The opening number started out at (49 / 13.5) and has moved significantly twice to the under first to 47- / 47 then 45- / 45 earlier in the week. There has been minimal movement on this side. Looking into a few interesting trends; Southern Miss is 5-2 Lifetime as a Double Digit Road Dog in Week 1, 3 of 5 were against the SEC. While S Carolina is 3-7-1 as a Double Digit favorite in week 1 at home.
Weather Watch: Hurricane Earl will have no impact on this game tonight from Columbia. Forecast is clear with no rain in forecast temp should be around 86 at kick off with 40% Humidity.
My recommended play for tonight is on the Under (45) and Southern Miss (+14) keeping it close enough to stay within the number. Prediction-Southern Miss 17 South Carolina 27