Outback Bowl: Iowa vs. South Carolina Preview

The Iowa Hawkeyes beat a lot of good teams this year, while the South Carolina Gamecocks seemed to lose to a lot of good teams. What does that mean January 1 when they meet at Raymond James Stadium in the Outback Bowl? Oddsmakers currently have the Hawkeyes listed as 4-point favorites versus the Gamecocks, while the game's total is sitting at 43. Ricky Stanzi threw for 255 yards with threw touchdowns to lead Iowa to a 55-0 drubbing of Minnesota in Week 13. Iowa easily covered the 7-point spread, and the 55 points made it OVER the posted total of 44.5. Shonn Greene ran for two touchdowns in that win. Chris Smelley completed 22-of-47 pass attempts for 207 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions for South Carolina as they lost 31-14 to Clemson in Week 14. The Gamecocks failed to cover the 1-point spread, while the final score played OVER the posted total of 40.5. Team records: Iowa: 8-4 SU, 7-4 ATS South Carolina: 7-5 SU, 5-5-1 ATS Iowa most recently: When playing in January are 2-2 When playing on grass are 6-4 After outgaining opponent are 5-5 When playing outside the conference are 6-4 South Carolina most recently: When playing in January are 2-0 When playing on grass are 5-5 After being outgained are 5-5 When playing outside the conference are 8-2 A few trends to consider: Iowa is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games Iowa is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games The total has gone OVER in 4 of Iowa's last 6 games The total has gone OVER in 5 of South Carolina's last 7 games South Carolina is 6-3 SU in its last 9 games