Pinnacle -3½ +105  BET365  -3½ -105 Sportsinteraction -3½ -105  888Sport -3½ -105

Posted at 10:30 AM EST. Odds are subject to change.

South Carolina -9 over Illinois

Camping World Stadium – Orlando, FL

Cheez-It Citrus Bowl

2:00 PM ET. The Gamecocks have a bone to pick. Snubbed from the College Football Playoff despite a season that could’ve gone differently with a single play or two, South Carolina comes into this game with a chip on their shoulder the size of the Swamp. Illinois, meanwhile, is the benefactor of a soft schedule and a ranking that flatters to deceive. The rankings say this is a battle of Top 20 teams; we say it’s a mismatch.

The line movement tells us all we need to know. South Carolina opened as a double-digit favorite, but early action on Illinois has trimmed this number to a more palatable range. The public sees a ranked team catching points and salivates. That’s fine by us. Opt-outs or not, South Carolina is the superior team in every meaningful metric. Their résumé includes wins over Clemson and near-misses against playoff teams like Alabama and LSU. Illinois? Their “marquee” win was a fluky victory over a Michigan team still finding its identity.

What really separates these two is quality of competition. South Carolina has been battle-tested week in and week out, while Illinois padded their record with wins over sub-.500 teams and an FCS cupcake. Lay the points here and don’t overthink it. South Carolina is motivated, deeper, and simply better.

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