Gamecocks Lose Jake Bentley Indefinitely; South Carolina Still a 40-Point Favorite vs Charleston Southern

• The South Carolina Gamecocks have lost quarterback Jake Bentley (foot) for the next six to eight weeks
• Bentley had started 33 games for the Gamecocks
• New starter Ryan Hilinski is a true freshman but is the highest-rated recruit in the Will Muschamp era

South Carolina suffered two big losses in their first game of the season. Not only did they lose to rivals North Carolina, they also lost starting quarterback Jake Bentley.

As a result, the Gamecocks now have to turn to backup Ryan Hilinski. He’ll be eased in this week as the Gamecocks are a massive favorite over FCS opponent Charleston Southern.

Will they cover the spread with Hilinski behind center?

Charleston Southern vs South Carolina Odds

*Odds taken 09/04/19 .

Bentley Out for Majority of Season

One of the reasons the Gamecocks had high hopes for the 2019 season was senior quarterback Jake Bentley, who was a seasoned starter. He had made 33 starts for the Gamecocks and while some of them were uneven, the expectation was that he’d be a steadying arm in his final season.

Instead, Bentley threw two picks in the opener, missed a wide-open Shi Smith for the go-ahead touchdown and sustained the foot injury. He will now be out for the next six-to-eight weeks. He’s not likely to get his job back when he’s healthy as the Gamecocks are turning to the much-hyped true freshman Hilinksi.

Hilinski Is The Future For South Carolina

Ryan Hilinski had a shot to win the starting job in training camp but the Gamecocks went with Bentley. Now the true freshman is forced into the starting role. He’s the highest-rated recruit Will Muschamp has been able to woo at South Carolina and played well in the spring game, but he’s yet to throw an in-game pass.

It’s given the program some life as the fans knew this team wasn’t going anywhere with Bentley as the starter. He’d been solid but not spectacular, which hasn’t been good enough to compete in the SEC East. They’re not even on the board for National Championship odds.

Now they could take a step back in the short term, but can have hope in Hilinski turning into one of the conference’s premier quarterbacks down the line.

Should You Bet the ‘Cocks This Week?

The Gamecocks will take on Charleston Southern and as you can see by the line, this isn’t expected to be a close game. Whether it’s Bentley, Hilinski or Mickey Mouse, the Gamecocks are expected to crush this FCS opponent.

To put things in perspective, the Buccaneers lost 46-13 at Furman last week. Furman was just 6-4 in the FCS last season, so that gives you a clear idea of where Charleston Southern is at. Not only are they an FCS school, they’re a bad one at that. That means that this is the perfect game for South Carolina to get right.

In most cases, I’d probably take the points but given how bad Charleston Southern is – they lost by 33 to an FCS school last week – I would lay the points here. The Gamecocks beat Coastal Carolina 49-15 last season, so they should be in and around that 40-point mark.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYmvIhKNpJw

However, with them breaking in a new starter and needing to get some confidence on offense, I expect them to put the pedal to the metal. They’re pissed about last week’s loss and will take it out on the Bucs.