ESPN College Football

ESPN College Football, There are two very interesting ATS story lines heading into this game; South Carolina is just 2-8 against the number in their last ten overall and NC State is 9-1-1 in their last 11 games overall. The difference this year for NC State is that they will not be the underdog week in and week out as they were a year ago and have been installed as 5 point favorites over Steve Spurrier’s Gamecocks.

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ESPN College Football, Let’s face it, Spurrier has not contended for a SEC title since he arrived at South Carolina and a run this year seems unlikely. The quarterback position is a huge question mark for the Gamecocks and playing on the road in a tough environment isn’t going to help Stephen Garcia who is entering his first year as the clear cut starter. In split time last year, Garcia threw for 6 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. So this will be a tough spot for South Carolina to get a win on the road with just 11 returning starters all together and inexperience up front on both sides of the ball.

North Carolina State is on the radar to be somewhat of a surprise team in the ACC as they return 14 starters from a team that continued to get better and better as the year went along in 2008. They surely will have revenge on their mind after getting spanked by South Carolina 34-0 to open the season a year ago. This year, NC State has the huge advantage at the quarterback position which might determine the outcome of the game. All-Conference sophomore quarterback, Russell Wilson returns and should only get better in his second year. The offense has a solid line and two very good backs.

It will be interesting to see how well the NC State offense performs against South Carolina’s inexperienced but speedy defense. I think South Carolina will struggle on offense so they will need to keep the Wolf Pack offense in check to have any chance at winning this game. I do expect South Carolina to be extremely competitive but I think NC State gets the win.

As for the cover, it is a difficult decision with the line opening at 3 and rising to 5. I think it’s best to sit this one out and just enjoy a good college football game on opening night. The number seems very sharp and there doesn’t appear to be a huge advantage for either team. I’ll call for a NC State victory but pass on the point spread.