Florida is just as bad defensively as it is on offense -- believe it or not. In fact, the Gators' defense is the worst they have put on the field in decades. UF is without one-quarter of its scholarship players due to suspension and injury. It is also reeling following the separation from Jim McElwain and heading into a second-straight noon start. Though South Carolina's offense is not solid by any means, it has the 32nd-ranked defense in the nation. If Florida can't score on Mizzou, it's not scoring on South Carolina.

So much for a coaching change to ignite the Gators. The switch from the deposed Jim McElwain to interim Randy Shannon resulted in the worst beatdown of the season, by 29 points at Missouri. Yet Bill Belichick might throw up his hands if standing in Florida’s coaching shoes. Injuries and suspensions have wiped 25 scholarship players off the active roster. The defense had hung tough for awhile, but two freshmen now start in the secondary and a onetime walk-on at linebacker. Malik Zaire is the third player to try his hand at QB. The Gamecocks are hardly a picture of health but have adjusted better to injuries. They forced Georgia to sweat out a win last Saturday and have either covered or pushed in five outings in a row. The scenario points to kicking a team when it’s down.

The Gators are on a downward trend. The Gamecocks are covering the TD spread in 61 percent of simulations, but they’re winning straight up in 78 percent. For the price you’re getting, the money line is the solid play here.