Saturday ESPN College Football Picks – #9 South Carolina @ #7 Arkansas Odds and Predictions – Week 10 NCAA Football Spreads and Odds

Week 10 Free College Football Picks and Spreads: South Carolina Gamecocks @ Arkansas Razorbacks 2011 NCAA Football Vegas Odds, Free Picks, and Expert Predictions on ESPN Saturday 11/5/11: While all the attention has been on LSU and Alabama this weekend, there is another SEC matchup featuring top-10 teams. The ninth-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks (7-1) will go on the road to face the seventh-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks (7-1). It may not be the Game of the Century, but there is still plenty on the line. Arkansas will be on the fast track to earn an at-large bid to a BCS bowl for the second year in a row, while a victory for South Carolina will put Steve Spurrier’s bunch on track to reach the SEC Championship Game.

Despite the impressive record, there are plenty of question marks about the Gamecocks. Starting quarterback Stephen Garcia was dismissed from the team after another off the field violation, putting sophomore Connor Shaw under center. More importantly, running back Marcus Lattimore is out of for the season with a knee injury. Lattimore was a frontrunner for the Heisman and the center of the Gamecocks’ offense, and without him, South Carolina has managed just 14 points in its last two games.

Scoring points hasn’t been a problem for the Razorbacks. Quarterback Tyler Wilson leads a pass-happy attack that is putting up nearly 37 points per game. Wilson and company are averaging more than 320 yards a game through the air, which ranks among the top 10 in the country. Arkansas hasn’t bolstered its numbers with a few big games either. The Razorbacks have scored at least 29 points in every game this year.

The good news for the Gamecocks is that their defense is still intact and currently ranks in the top 15 in the country. South Carolina is giving up just 17.1 points per game and hasn’t given up more than 16 points in five straight games. The big question is whether or not the defense can continue to step up against a team like Arkansas that likes to spread out opponents and pick them apart with the passing game.

An X-factor in the game could be South Carolina receiver Alshon Jeffery. The big, physical receiver had more than 1,500 yards last season but has been quiet thus far. He is the type of player that could step up and make some big plays for a sputtering Gamecocks’ offense. In fact, he may have to if South Carolina is going to compete with the high-powered Arkansas offense.

In the end, this game will about whether or not the South Carolina defense can contain the Arkansas offense. The loss of Lattimore affects Arkansas in more ways than simply putting points on the board. The power ground game allowed South Carolina to control the clock, giving the defense time to rest on the sideline. Containing an offense as potent as Arkansas’ at full strength is one thing, but stopping them on tired legs late in the game is a completely different scenario. The Razorbacks simply have too much firepower on offense, and the Gamecocks are missing too many of their own weapons to keep pace.

Prediction: Arkansas Razorbacks (-5) Cover the Spread

Free College Football Picks and NCAAF Predictions: Arkansas -5 to cover the spread

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