What underdog? South Carolina football already a betting favorite vs. UNC
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The South Carolina and North Carolina football teams meet Saturday night in a highly anticipated season opener at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium.
But there’s already a clear winner, in terms of gambling.
Bettors are heavily favoring coach Shane Beamer and the Gamecocks to either cover the spread or win outright against the No. 21 Tar Heels (-1.5), according to VegasInsider.com.
USC, according to that website, has picked up 76% of the total bets and 75% of the total money placed on Saturday’s Duke’s Mayo Kickoff Classic (7:30 p.m., ABC).
South Carolina, coming off an 8-5 season and Gator Bowl appearance, has been a slim underdog to North Carolina, coming off a 9-5 season and ACC championship game appearance, all offseason.
The USC-UNC game opened as a pick’em game — in which neither team is favored — in some sportsbooks earlier this year. But the Tar Heels have consistently been favored by a few points for months and are currently a consensus 1.5-point betting favorite, according to VegasInsider.
Bettors are trusting South Carolina won’t let that happen — especially on money line bets, or straight-up win-loss bets. USC has racked up 60% of the win-loss bets and 68% of the money placed on money line bets as of Wednesday.
UNC only has 24% of the total bets and 25% of the total money placed on a marquee matchup that’s drawing a morning visit from College GameDay, ESPN’s famous traveling pregame show.
South Carolina, coached by Beamer and led by quarterback Spencer Rattler, went 7-5 against the spread last season. The Gamecocks were picked to finish third in the SEC East behind Georgia and Tennessee and are being projected for six wins by most major sportsbooks.
North Carolina, coached by Mack Brown and led by quarterback Drake Maye, went 6-7 against the spread last season. The Tar Heels were picked to finish third in the divisionless ACC behind No. 9 Clemson and No. 8 FSU and are being projected for eight wins on most gambling sites.
The Gamecocks are 4-1 against the Tar Heels in those schools’ meetings and 3-2 against the spread in those games. That includes the memorable 2021 Duke’s Mayo in which USC beat UNC, 38-21, as a 12-point underdog to end Beamer’s first season with a bang.
A few more USC-USC betting notes, via the Odds Shark database:
South Carolina is 3-7 overall and 4-6 against the spread (ATS) in its last 10 games versus ACC teams. Five of the seven losses are to in-state rival Clemson.
North Carolina is 3-7 overall and 5-5 ATS in its last 10 games versus SEC teams and have lost five of their last six games to SEC teams.
USC is 6-4 overall and 6-4 ATS in its last 10 games as an underdog – all under Beamer – and has four wins as double-digit underdogs since Beamer took over ahead of the 2021 season, according to the Post & Courier. (The rest of the SEC, in that same time frame, has five.)
UNC is 7-3 overall but just 2-7-1 against the spread in its last 10 games as a favorite. The Tar Heels ended the 2022 regular season with back-to-back home losses to Georgia Tech and N.C. State as the betting favorite.
SEC Week 1 odds
Consensus lines via VegasInsider.com
Florida at No. 14 Utah (-9)
South Dakota at Missouri (N/A)
Virginia vs. No. 12 Tennessee (-26.5)
Ball State at Kentucky (-26)
Western Carolina at Arkansas (N/A)
Mercer at No. 22 Ole Miss (N/A)
Massachusetts at Auburn (-38)
Southeast Louisiana at Mississippi State (N/A)
UT Martin at No. 1 Georgia (N/A)
New Mexico at No. 23 Texas A&M (-37.5)
Alabama A&M at Vanderbilt (N/A)
MTSU at No. 4 Alabama (-36)
No. 21 North Carolina (-1.5) vs. South Carolina
No. 5 LSU (1-5) vs. No. 8 Florida State
