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South Carolina vs Illinois Preview & Picks – Fighting Illini To Run Gamecocks Close In Citrus Bowl
- South Carolina vs Illinois picks for Tuesday, December 31
- Citrus Bowl is taking place at Camping World Stadium in Orlando
- Preview, predictions, stats & form
(Getty Images)
- South Carolina vs Illinois Preview & Picks
- Head To Head
- South Carolina Form
- Illinois Form
South Carolina vs Illinois Preview & Picks
South Carolina vs Illinois Preview & Picks
Illinois are tipped to cover the spread as Citrus Bowl underdogs.
South Carolina could be missing several key players due to opt-outs, so we like a battle-hardened Fighting Illini team who have covered consistently, both as an underdog and against ranked teams.
- Illinois are 3-1-0 ATS as single digit underdogs
- Illinois are 4-1-0 ATS against ranked teams this season
- The Under has hit in 4 of Illinois’ 5 games against ranked teams
- The Under has cashed in 3 of South Carolina’s 5 road games
Head To Head
- This is the first ever meeting between the two teams
South Carolina Form
South Carolina missed out on the College Football Playoffs, so they will settle for a place in the Citrus Bowl after a 9-3 regular season.
The damage to the Gamecocks was done early as they lost three of their first four conference games, albeit against ranked teams.
A 35-9 win over Oklahoma in early October breathed some life into their campaign, as it sparked a six-game win streak to close out the season.
South Carolina knocked off ranked SEC rivals in three straight games during this run, beating Texas A&M 44-20, Vanderbilt 28-7 and Missouri 34-30.
The Gamecocks closed out the season with a 17-14 victory at a Clemson team who went on to claim the ACC Championship.
Illinois Form
Illinois go into this Bowl Game having enjoyed a successful season that saw them go 9-3 and beat several ranked teams.
The Fighting Illini opened the season with four consecutive wins, beating Kansas 23-27 and Nebraska 31-24 during that run.
They cooled off over the next five games, losing three times, but two of those defeats came against top-10 opposition in Penn State and Oregon.
Illinois did upset Michigan, 21-7, during that sequence, and they ended the regular season in positive form thanks to three straight wins.
The Fighting Illini downed Michigan State in their final home game, 38-16, before heading out on the road to beat Rutgers 38-31 and Northwestern 38-28.
Verdict
South Carolina certainly made a case for a playoff place this year, but it was not to be.
Opt-outs could be an issue for them here, so we are going to lean towards an Illinois team who have been a reliable underdog pick with the points all season.
Opt-outs could be an issue for them here, so we are going to lean towards an Illinois team who have been a reliable underdog pick with the points all season.
Illinois +9.5
Spread
@-111.11 - 4 Units
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Under 48.0
Total Points
@-111.11 - 2 Units
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