Iowa vs South Carolina Point Spread Picks

The Gamecocks' defense put up some impressive numbers on their way to a No. 11 defensive ranking among the 120 NCAAF teams this season. A closer look however reveals that outside of a big defensive effort against Georgia, those numbers were padded by some games vs. anemic offensive teams. They opened the season with a shutout of North Carolina State, who at the beginning of the season scored 0, 9 and 10 points against BCS conference teams before the team finally found themselves. South Carolina allowed 13 each to both Wofford and UAB. They also allowed just six points to a Tennessee offense that ranked just No. 116. And, they gave up 17 points to a Kentucky team ranked No. 106. Against the other six games against reasonably good or good offenses, the Gamecocks allowed 30 ppg. In their last three on the regular season they allowed 36 ppg. The Hawkeyes' defense was pretty solid all season, but the biggest change from last season came on the offensive side of the ball, where they averaged 34.7 ppg in their last six games including 39 ppg against teams going to Bowls. The Gamecocks played four of five to the OVER against teams with winning records in their last five games. The Hawkeyes were 4-1-1 OVER in their last six. I like this one to go OVER the posted total.