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This season’s Birmingham Bowl on Thursday, Dec. 29 pits the AAC’s South Florida Bulls against the SEC’s South Carolina Gamecocks at Legion Field. Kickoff for the first bowl matchup on that day’s slate is set for 2 p.m. (ET) and the game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.
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South Florida vs. South Carolina Game Overview<br />
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The Bulls come into this contest riding a straight-up four-game winning streak to close out the regular season. They went 3-1 against the spread during this same span and the total has now gone OVER in five of their last six games. Overall, South Florida is 10-2 SU with a 7-1 record in conference play. It has covered the spread in eight of those 12 games and the total has gone OVER in nine of those contests.
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A loss to Temple in late October ended the Bulls’ chances to play in the AAC title game, but this was still one of the top Mid-Major programs in the country this season. So much so that South Florida’s former head coach Willie Taggert recently accepted the same position at Oregon. Junior quarterback Quinton Flowers proved to be an effective duel threat with 2,551 passing yards and 22 touchdowns throws with his arm to go along with a team-high 1,425 yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground. Rodney Adams was his top receiver in the passing game with 60 catches for 755 yards and five scores.
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South Carolina needed a 44-31 victory against Western Carolina on Nov. 19 as a heavy 29.5-point home favorite just to qualify for a bowl game this season. The Gamecocks were 6-6 SU with a 5-7 record ATS. The total stayed UNDER in eight of those 12 games. They went 3-5 SU in SEC play with their biggest win coming against Tennessee as 14.5-point underdogs at home. South Carolina is 3-5 ATS this season when closing as an underdog.
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A trio of quarterbacks helped run the Gamecocks’ offense this season with Jake Bentley leading the way with 1,030 yards passing and six touchdowns. Rico Dowdle was the team’s leading rusher with 714 yards and six scores on 121 carries. South Carolina averaged just 19.3 points per game this season which was well down the list in Division IA and defensively it was ranked 45th in the nation in points allowed (24.8).
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South Florida vs. South Carolina Game Betting Trends<br />
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The Bulls are 1-4 ATS in their last five games against the SEC, but they improve to 7-3 ATS in their last 10 nonconference games overall. The total has gone OVER or ended as a PUSH in six of their last seven nonconference games.
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The Gamecocks are 4-1 ATS in their last five neutral-site games and they are 6-2 ATS in their last eight games played on a Thursday. The total has stayed UNDER or ended as a PUSH in their last four games against the AAC.
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These two last met in 2004 with South Carolina cruising to a 34-3 victory as a 13-point home favorite. The total stayed UNDER 41.5 points in that game.
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