Vegas Play of the Day: South Carolina at Vanderbilt

By Case Keefer (contact)

Thursday, Sept. 1, 2016 | 6:39 a.m.

We’re entering the third season of the annual South Point-lined Play of the Day competition, effective July 1.

Starting bankrolls have reset to $10,000, with the maximum bet being to win $1,000 and the minimum wager $300. Ray Brewer won the 2015-2016 season, after Taylor Bern prevailed in 2014-2015.

Vanderbilt minus-4 vs. South Carolina: $330 to win $300

Read between the lines, and it sounds like South Carolina is trying to make it through this transitional year with sights on really excelling a couple season from now. That time is now for Vanderbilt, which is thinking bowl or bust in coach Derek Mason’s third season.

Because of the names on the jerseys, it’s hard to believe that Vanderbilt’s program is ahead of South Carolina’s at the moment. But that’s where we are at the start of the 2016 season.

South Carolina is completely rebuilding, and not even hiding it, in year 1 under coach Will Muschamp. The Gamecocks return only nine starters from a team that was mediocre on offense, and worse on defense.

It feels farfetched to believe Muschamp is going to work much magic after middling returns as Auburn’s defensive coordinator last year and Florida’s coach in the two seasons before that.

Vanderbilt, on the other hand, was a top-25 defensive team last year and gets back most of its best players, including linebackers Zach Cunningham and Oren Burks to anchor the middle.

The offense looks like much less of a sure thing, meaning this is a gamble that the Commodores can find a way to put enough points on the board to cover.

Current standings: Keefer (11-5-1, $12,031), Bern (6-7, $10,144), Brewer (7-8, $9,265)

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.