According to legal sports betting sites, the Texas A&M Aggies are 2.5-point favorites over the South Carolina Gamecocks. TAMU and USC will do battle for one of the most obscure awards in sports, the Bonham Trophy. It is named after James Butler Bonham, a 19th-century American soldier who died at the Battle of the Alamo during the Texas Revolution. However, it could be named after Led Zeppelin’s late drummer for all the Aggies know about it. “I had no clue there was a trophy,” TAMU senior linebacker Otaro Alaka said. “There’s a trophy for who wins? There is no trophy for who wins. I’ve never seen a trophy. We have never held up a trophy after we’ve won, and we’ve won all of them. I can honestly say I have never seen that trophy.”
Maybe there is no trophy. Maybe it’s one of them, uh, metaphorical things. Like, maybe the trophy is inside each of us created by our goodwill and teamwork. Nah. They said there’d be sandwiches.
Betting Texas A&M
Aedh requested La Belle Dame Sans Merci to tread softly, for she was treading on his dreams. In stark contrast, the Aggies just stomped all over the Kentucky Wildcats’ dreams of a perfect season last weekend. TAMU held Kentucky to just only 178 total offensive yards. The Aggies especially controlled the Wildcats’ ground attack. For example, Kentucky’s star running back Benny Snell Jr. put up just 60 yards. TAMU has the momentum of that OT win and the legal online sports betting reflects it.
Betting South Carolina
Backup QB Michael Scarnecchia went 20 of 35 for 249 yards and three TDs in last Saturday’s 37-35 win over Missouri. However, you’ll notice I wrote “backup” and not “starting.” That’s because incumbent Jake Bentley will resume his duties this Saturday. “I told [Scarnecchia] when I met with he and Jake in my office, ‘I want you to leave pissed off. I want you to be upset,’ ” head coach Will Muschamp said. “Mike’s not that type of young man. He looked at me and said, ‘I want to do what’s best for the team and I want to win.’ ” Nonetheless, Scarnecchia pulled a Motley Crue and didn’t go away mad. He just went away. Back to the bench.
The bad news is that, per legal online sports betting odds, the Cocks will lose the Bonham Trophy for a fifth straight time. The good news is that if they’re as unaware of it as the Aggies are, they won’t even know they’ve lost it.
Texas A&M Aggies at South Carolina Gamecocks NCAA Football Betting Preview
- Date: October 13
- Time: 2:30 p.m. CT
- Venue: Williams–Brice Stadium, Columbia, SC
Lines from MyBookie.ag:
- TEXAS A&M -2½ (-110) 52 (-110) -135
- SOUTH CAROLINA +2½ (-110) 52 (-110) +115
Texas A&M Team Stats
Offense
- 3 points per game (46th)
- 7 total yards per game (17th)
- 7 passing yards per game (33rd)
- 0 rushing yards per game (24th)
Defense
- 3 total yards allowed per game (23rd)
- 8 passing yards allowed per game (96th)
- 5 rushing yards allowed per game (4th)
South Carolina Team Stats
Offense
- 0 points per game (65th)
- 0 total yards per game (53rd)
- 8 passing yards per game (47th)
- 2 rushing yards per game (74th)
Defense
- 4 total yards allowed per game (55th)
- 4 passing yards allowed per game (12th)
- 0 rushing yards allowed (99th)
Betting Trends
- Texas A&M is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games
- The Aggies are is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games
- Texas A&M is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
- South Carolina is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games
- The Gamecocks are 9-4 SU in its last 13 games
- South Carolina is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games at home
Apparently there is a QB controversy at South Carolina. Internal competition can bring out the best in both players. Or it can lead to one of them transferring, ala Kelly Bryant. And, as they say in the parlance of our times, there’s good fishing in troubled waters. Meanwhile, the Aggies are playing very good football right now. Users of the best online sportsbooks would do well to just take the better team and the points.
