No. 21 Nebraska vs. No. 10 South Carolina
Jan. 2, 1 p.m. ET, ESPN
At Orlando, Fla.
The Cornhuskers don’t have the market cornered on dual-threat quarterbacks this time.
Gamecock signalcaller Connor Shaw passed for 210 yards and ran for 107, leading a 34-13 victory over eventual ACC champion Clemson on Nov. 26.
He’s been able to provide South Carolina (10-2) with some stability since the season-ending injury to tailback Marcus Lattimore and dismissal of former starting quarterback Stephen Garcia.
But when South Carolina has the football, it’ll still be a knock-down-drag-out battle to see who is less inconsistent between the Gamecock offense and the Cornhusker defense, which must now deal with the departure of coordinator Carl Pelini, who was hired as Florida Atlantic’s new head coach on Dec. 5.
When Nebraska’s offense takes the field, its ground-gobbling combination of quarterback Taylor Martinez and tailback Rex Burkhead will try to put a dent in a Gamecock defense that is particularly proficient versus the pass.
The Cornhuskers (9-3) are new to this Big Ten-SEC rivalry, but that doesn’t mean they won’t fall right in line and get beat.
Opening point spread: South Carolina by 1
The pick: South Carolina 24-20
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