Are the South Carolina Gamecocks due for a letdown?

The loyal fans in Columbia must be feeling a little edgy these days. Coach Steve Spurrier has led the Fighting Gamecocks to a 3-1 record this year (2-1 against the spread), but those three wins came against overmatched opposition. The loss was an 18-0 kick in the teeth delivered by the Georgia Bulldogs, and things might be even uglier when So. Carolina meets the No. 3 Auburn Tigers Thursday night at Williams-Brice Stadium. The Tigers are 14-point favorites with a total of 37.5.

The Gamecocks have the unenviable task of trying to stop Auburn running back Kenny Irons. This will be a homecoming of sorts for Irons; he transferred from So. Carolina in 2004 and made a name for himself last year by rushing for 1,293 yards, the highest total for any tailback in the SEC. That performance included a pair of touchdowns against the Gamecocks in last year’s 48-7 shellacking - Auburn was favored at home by 15.5 points in that affair.

Irons was held out at last week’s relatively meaningless 38-7 win over Buffalo with a sprained ankle, although that injury isn’t considered serious. The rest should give Irons that extra bounce in his step to slash through So. Carolina’s highly-suspect run defense. The Gamecocks gave up an embarrassing 290 yards on the ground two weeks ago to Div-1-AA Wofford in a surprisingly close 27-20 So. Carolina win. There was no line on the game, thankfully for Gamecocks’ supporters.

As excellent as the Auburn run attack is, coach Tommy Tuberville has told reporters that the passing game could use a little prep work as the Tigers prepare for the meat of the SEC schedule. “We’ve got a stretch with three very good conference games,” Tuberville said, “and that’s going to force us to throw the ball more.” This could be excellent news for OVER backers. Although Auburn has jumped out to big leads in racking up a 4-0 record (3-1 ATS), the UNDER has gone 3-1 as the Tigers have chewed up the clock running the ball in the second half.

Kick-off is at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time with ESPN providing national coverage on cable.

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He may be in third place in the NASCAR Nextel Cup drivers’ standings, but he’s No. 1 with a bullet on the odds list.

Matt Kenseth is the +700 favorite to win this Sunday’s Banquet 400 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City - the one in the Sunflower State, that is. Handicappers have short memories, and it was just last month that Kenseth won back-to-back races on the way to taking first place in the standings leading into the Chase for the Cup. He’s now just 18 points back of current leader Jeff Burton.

Kenseth has recent history on his side at Kansas. He finished fifth last year at this 1.5-mile tri-oval, having started from the pole. And if he hadn’t run out of gas on the last lap of last week’s MBNA NASCAR RacePoints 400 at Dover International Speedway, Kenseth would probably be on top of the standings right now. He managed a 10th-place finish instead to stay within close range of Burton.

The man in second place has even more reason to look forward to Kansas. Jeff Gordon is second on the odds list, ties with Kasey Kahne at +800, and his track record at Kansas is stellar: two victories and an average result of sixth since the inaugural race in 2001. You can call it a comeback if you want; Gordon is a four-time Cup winner and is just six points behind Burton after missing last year’s Chase.

But the buzz on the Cup circuit is still with the folks at Richard Childress Racing. The last three races have fallen into the RCR camp - Burton took the checkered flag last week at Dover, while Kevin Harvick won the two previous events. RCR is still under scrutiny after the SPEED Network report that suggested the team used modified tire rims that fell under a gray area of NASCAR’s rules.

If RCR is still operating with something of an advantage, then Harvick (+900) and Burton (+1400) have to be considered worth a look for Kansas. However, between the two, only Harvick has managed a Top-10 result on this track, and that happened just once in 2003, when he finished sixth.

The action gets underway Sunday at 2:10 p.m. Eastern under expected sunny skies.
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We nailed the ‘Under’ in last nights pitchers duel between Young and Reyes, but I’m going the other way tonight in what’s certain to be a slugfest. Both Davis’ and Marquis’ home/road splits are garbage, and both should get shelled tonight. The Redbirds picked up a huge win last night to hold onto their 1.5 game lead in the division, and I’m expecting them to feed off the momentum from that win and get their bats going. Doug Davis’ ERA raises a full point on the road to 6.04 from 5.02, and Jason Marquis’ ERA is just awful in every situation he pitches (day, night, home, away). Both these pitchers might not last long, and it will allow both clubs to hack away at each other’s horrific bullpens. Over she goes as the Brew Crew and Redbirds play their fourth to last game against each other in 2006.

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Real tricky spot for the Tigers who dropped the second game of this series last night by a 7-4 count. This looks to be a real solid pitching match-up with both AJ Burnett and Kenny Rogers getting the starting nods. Both pitchers come in with some really impressive stats, and both pens are amongst the best in the league. Burnett comes into this game a solid 2-1 with a 2.05 ERA his L/3 starts, and has struck out 26 batters in only 22 innings of work while issuing 4 free passes. The Gambler comes in a perfect 2-0 with a miniscule 1.29 ERA, and has only given up 19 hits in 21 innings of work. The ‘Under’ has been a wise choice in both these guys splits this year as it’s cashed in 7 of AJ’s 11 road starts, and in 11 of Kenny’s 14 home starts. Expect both pitcher’s to be lights out here today, and for the victor of this game to score no more than 4 runs.

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Southpaw Tommy Gorzelanny has put forth decent numbers in his starts this season, but the Astros are just too flaming hot to let him get the best of them today. It is a steep price to pay, but you’re not going to find much value backing any of the teams looking to make the post-season. It hasn’t been easy for the ‘Stros throughout the first two games of their series with the Buccos, but they’ve taken the first two and kept their post-season aspirations alive in the process. I’m looking for them to keep the mojo rocking this afternoon with their #1 stud on the mound whose been nothing short of dominating against the Pirates in his career. He comes into this game a solid 2-0 with a 2.45 Era and has struck out 15 batters while only issuing 4 free passes.
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