College Football 2016 Birmingham Bowl Free Picks: South Carolina Vs South Florida

Posted by Eric Williams on Wednesday,December 28, 2016 10:38, EDT in

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The South Carolina Gamecocks will look to pull off the upset over the South Florida Bulls when the two teams square off in the 2016 Birmingham Bowl. The 11th annual edition of this bowl game will be played on at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala., on Thursday, Dec. 29, at 2:00 PM ET while airing live on ESPN.

Now, let’s find out which team is offering the most value in this contest.

College Football 2016 Birmingham Bowl Free Picks: Gamecocks Vs Bulls

2016 Birmingham Bowl

What: USF Bulls (10-2) at South Carolina Gamecocks (6-6)
When: Thursday, December 29, 2016 at 2:00 PM ET
Where: Legion Field
TV: ESPN
NCAAF Odds: South Florida -10.5 / Total: 63

South Carolina Gamecocks

South Carolina dropped two of their final three games and come into their bowl game matchup off a pitiful 56-7 blowout loss against No. 3 Clemson in their finale. The Gamecocks average a miniscule 19.2 points per game to rank a discouraging 122nd in scoring nationally but have won four straight bowl games.

Quarterback Jake Bentley is completing 63.3 percent of his passes for 1,030 yards with six touchdowns and two interceptions since becoming the starting quarterback. Bentley however, doesn’t have a touchdown pass in his last three games.

Wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Hayden Hurst have combined for more than 1,123 receiving yards but no touchdown grabs while running back Rico Dowdle rushed for a team-high 714 yards and six touchdowns. Defensively, South Carolina is giving up 24.8 points per game to rank a respectable 45th in points allowed nationally.

South Florida Bulls

The Bulls have won four straight and come into this contest off a resounding 48-31 win over Central Florida in their regular season finale. The Bulls average a whopping 43.5 points per game to rank a stupendous seventh nationally in scoring and will look to reach 11 wins for the first time in program history.

Quarterback Quinton Flowers is completing 61.5 percent of his passes for 2,551 yards with 22 touchdowns and six interceptions. Wide receivers Rodney Adams and Marquez Valdes-Scantling have combined for more than 1,156 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns while Flowers led the Bulls in rushing with a stellar 1,425 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Defensively, South Florida is allowing a whopping 31.0 points per game to rank an uninspiring 86th nationally in points allowed.

Expert ATS Pick & Final Score Prediction

55 percent of the betting public likes South Carolina to cover the spread, but I sure don’t and I can’t understand why anyone else would either. The Gamecocks have the talent to handle the Bulls, but they’re as offensively-challenged as any team in the country and South Florida can put points on the board with the most explosive offenses in the country.

I like the fact that the Bulls are shooting for their first 11-win season and have plenty of motivation to show they can play with any team in the country, no matter what conference they hail from. The Bulls are 15-6 ATS in their last 21 games while South Carolina has gone 2-5 ATS in their last seven games and just 8-15 SU in their last 23 games. South Florida gets the win and super narrow ATS cover!