The Gold Sheet

THE PLAY: Total Under 143.0 (-110)

You're not in Harrisonburg anymore, Coach Byington. Vanderbilt's first-year head coach Mark Byington is learning what life is like in the SEC after coaching at James Madison for the last few years. The Commodores have played fairly well in all three of their conference games thus far, but the notable difference since Vanderbilt began SEC play compared to non-conference play is the pace. Season-long, Vanderbilt's offense is using 15.6 seconds per possession. In their first three conference games, Vanderbilt has used 17.9 seconds per possession. Vanderbilt's three conference games have seen roughly four possessions fewer than the average of their non-conference games. You can run at a 73-possession pace against Southeast Missouri and a 78-possession pace against New Orleans. You can't do that against Mississippi State, and Lamont Paris is likely going to ensure that you can't do it against South Carolina, either. The Gamecocks just held Auburn to a 60-possession game on Saturday, which was the slowest game the No. 1-ranked Tigers have played this season. The Gamecocks are really struggling to find offense right now without Jamarii Thomas and Myles Stute. In three conference games, South Carolina is shooting 18.4-percent from three-point range. The Gamecocks' last five games have all stayed under the total. Vanderbilt's last five games have all stayed under the total. This will be the highest total that we've seen between Vanderbilt and South Carolina since January 2021. With the quirky raised floor, Memorial Gym is a tough place for opposing teams to shoot. Vanderbilt's last five home opponents have scored an average of 59.2 points per game.

THE PLAY: Houston Texans +8.5 (-110)

The betting storyline in this one is fairly simple: These two teams just played in Week 16 and Kansas City closed as a 3.5-point home favorite. Should the Chiefs be laying north of a touchdown in the rematch? Kansas City earned the 27-19 win-and-cover, but the first 35 minutes of that game looked a lot different than the final 25. That contest was very competitive in the first half, and Tank Dell scored what should-have-been the game-tying touchdown in the third quarter. Dell suffered a horrific knee injury on the play (even though the score did count), Ka'imi Fairbairn missed the subsequent extra point and the Texans were an absolute mess after that. CJ Stroud was never able to gain composure and threw two interceptions. Dell is out and Kansas City is coming off extended rest, but is that worth a five-point adjustment?! You can't really say, "The Chiefs are rested and healthy now," because Kansas City was pretty darn close to 100-percent in that first meeting. Defensive back Chamari Conner and tackle DJ Humphries were the only two players out for Kansas City. Isiah Pacheco and Hollywood Brown were both in the lineup and Patrick Mahomes had his full arsenal to work with. Kansas City went 8-9 against the spread this season, including an 0-5 ATS mark when favored by more than a touchdown. Per Evan Abrams, the Chiefs are 19-28-2 against the spread as a favorite of more than seven points with Patrick Mahomes at quarterback.