The pros at FiveStarPick.com will be giving our members the winner of tonight’s ESPN College Football game between the Rebels of Ole Miss and the South Carolina Gamecocks.  Las Vegas sportsbooks list the Rebels as 5-point road favorites with a total of 53.

The Rebels are currently sitting at No. 4 in the Associated Press poll and they have won eight straight, the second-longest current streak in the country. In addition, Ole Miss looked strong in the Cotton Bowl dropping the Red Raiders of Texas Tech 47-34, but the team hasn’t had to face a quality opponent in 2009, with easy wins over Memphis and Southeastern Louisiana. 

Coach Steve Spurrier and the Gamecocks, on the other hand, kicked off the Thursday night season with a pillow fight at N.C. State.  South Carolina won that game 7-3.  But one week later the Gamecocks made up for the borefest at Georgia for their SEC opener; a game Spurries team would eventually lose, 41-37, in a wild one.  After beating Florida Atlantic last weekend, South Carolina is sitting at 2-1 and a win over Ole Miss would set them up nicely for the rest of their schedule.

Gamecock sophomore quarterback Stephen Garcia has certainly done a much better job taking care of the ball to start this season and had a 313 yard, two-touchdown performance against Georgia.  On the other side of the ball, signal caller Jevan Snead was probably the single biggest reason the Rebels received a Top 10 preseason ranking.

On defense for the Gamecocks senior LB Eric Norwood is beyond happy to know that his defensive line will get DT Ladi Ajiboye (suspension) and Nathan Pepper (knee) back for this game. It will be the closest to full strength that this unit has been all season and that could be bad news for Mississippi, especially when you consider this program hasn’t won a SEC opener in five years, with the last two losses coming at the hands of Vanderbilt.  Snead will definitely have to be on top of his game in hostile territory for the Rebels to break that streak and a win would give Ole Miss a 3-0 start for the first time in 20 years.

This line opened with Ole Miss being favored by three points and has since jumped to five. Both teams are currently undefeated against the spread although South Carolina looks much more impressive at 3-0 ATS than does Ole Miss who has only played in one lined game.

So who covers the spread in this matchup?  It’s very easy to find out.  Try FiveStarPick.com for a month ($99.99) and see if our talent for picking college and pro football winners exceeds your expectations.  We are the only sports handicapping service in the business who documents wins and losses and displays them on our homepage for all to witness.  It’s because we have nothing to hide…we just win games against the spread.  Join our family today and start your winning streak tonight.

Jimmy the Geek – FiveStarPick.com

It’s football season…so let’s make some money.  Before we preview the South Carolina/NC State game, FiveStarPick.com would like to thank and welcome all of our new and returning members for what we think will be an outstanding football betting season.  We look forward to providing you with the best sports betting advice available anywhere.  Now…on with the show.

The Gamecocks started 2008 with Tommy Beecher under center and Beecher was intercepted by N.C. State less than three minutes into the season opener.   The writing was on the wall for Spurrier about his quarterback problems with the Gamecocks.  Carolina ended the season in much the same way as Stephen Garcia threw four picks in a 31-10 loss to Iowa in the Outback Bowl.

Spurrier might have had a tough decision on his hands if a QB with any experience was returning along with Garcia.  But Chris Smelley transferred and Beecher graduated, so the reigns have been handed over to Mr. Garcia.

With just five returning starters on offense and having to find a new ground game, it looks like Spurrier will again be leaning on his defense to carry the team.  The good news is that LB Eric Norwood is back after passing up the NFL draft.  The senior seems to have been in Columbia forever and considering he had nine sacks last year and was second on the team in tackles, Spurrier is thankful to have him back.

The bad news is the rest of the defense is green, including two corners who have never played a college game.  Making matters worse is that suspensions will keep three defensive starters from playing against North Carolina State.  DE Clifton Geathers (resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness), tackle Ladi Ajiboye (marijuana arrest), and CB C.C. Whitlock (arrested for trespassing at a nightclub) are all out.  Model citizens all. 

This is certainly a different Wolfpack squad than a year ago.  Coach Tom O’Brien has found his QB in sophomore Russell Wilson. The ACC Freshman of the Year in 2008, Wilson led an offense that got better every game and ended the year on a roll, averaging 34 points in their last three games.

N.C. State returns six starters on defense, but they too have their share of issues on that side of the ball. O’Brien was dealt a big blow this summer when LB Nate Irving was injured in a season ending car accident.

The difference here seems to be that Wilson and the Wolfpack appear better equipped to exploit those defensive issues than does the Gamecocks offense.  Running back Toney Baker is back after sitting out two seasons due to knee surgeries and should form a nice 1-2 punch with Jamelle Eugene.

So who covers the spread tonight at Carter-Finley Stadium?  It is very easy to find out.  Try FiveStarPick.com for a month ($99.99) and see if our talent for picking college and pro football winners exceeds your expectations.  We are the only sports handicapping service in the business who documents wins and losses and displays them on our homepage for all to witness.  It’s because we win.  Join our family today and start your win streak.

Jimmy the Geek – FiveStarPick.com