Week 4: Missouri

The Mayor’s Cup is on the line in a burgeoning SEC East rivalry that has been fairly competitive. The Gamecocks have won three straight in the series, and are 5 - 2 since Missouri joined the conference in 2012. Missouri has generally been a good team over the course of a full season the past few years, but hasn’t been anything near consistent during the season (i.e. losses to Middle Tennessee, Purdue, and Wyoming). In terms of recruiting the Tigers have ranked 43rd, 43rd, 43rd, and 37th over the past 4 years. I’m not sure if that means that recruits from that region are underrated by the recruiting services or whether Missouri is really good at developing talent, because they certainly have outperformed those rankings. Still, I was surprised to see the line open at Mizzou -10. There is a high probability that the Vegas guys know more than me and Missouri is that much of a better team than SC, but I just don’t see it. In a rainy and quiet stadium I expect the Gamecock’s superior ground game to be the difference in this one.

Prediction: USC 38 - Missouri 31. Mrs. Teriyaki Chicken has it as 35 - 32 good guys.