South Carolina and Vanderbilt remain the surprises of the SEC this season, but which can beat the other?

The Commodores are now bowl eligible after another conference upset, this time by Auburn on the road, and return home as the underdogs once again against an elite South Carolina defense. The Gamecocks are coming off a resounding victory over College Football Playoff contender Texas A&M and are one game away from reaching a bowl game.

How should we hinder this SEC showdown with surprising intrigue?

Here’s our full preview.

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money line

Total: 45.5 (More than -110/Less than -110)

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

South Carolina

LaNorris Sellers: The freshman had the best game of his season Saturday night in Columbia, passing for 244 yards and adding another 106 on the ground to combine 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 swirled about Pavia’s health heading into the Auburn game, and while he didn’t have his best performance by any means, he led the Commodores to another victory in SEC play. Pavia only completed 40% of his passes, but was not sacked or turned the ball over as he continues to keep this Commodores offense on schedule and in position to win games.

South Carolina’s defensive line will look to create chaos against a potentially lame-duck Pavia on Saturday, which is surely the matchup to watch.

The Gamecocks’ defensive line is elite, fourth in the country in sacks and 13th in EPA/Play. If the team is able to get to Pavia and put the Commodores behind the sticks, it could be difficult for this Vandy offense that depends on reaching favorable positions and distances since the unit is not very explosive.

As for the other side of the ball, I’m going to look past the epic play by Sellers and the Gamecocks offense last week when the team was in an advantageous situation against a depleted Texas A&M defense in a hostile environment.

For the rest of the season, South Carolina’s offense has been pretty poor. The unit ranks 96th in EPA/Play and has allowed the most sacks in the country, but more importantly, it can’t be successful on first downs.

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

I think this game may come down to field position as both offenses struggle to find their footing at all times.

CHOOSE: UNDER 45.5

Game odds are updated periodically and are subject to change.

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