Oklahoma Sooners vs. South Carolina Gamecocks Prediction and Picks – Saturday, October 18, 2025
Use Code SSWC The Oklahoma Sooners and South Carolina Gamecocks will play in an early SEC matchup this weekend, and we'll preview the lines and odds in our Oklahoma vs. South Carolina prediction. The Sooners are down to 5-1 after losing their Red River Rivalry matchup with Texas last weekend, while the Gamecocks are 3-3 after a road loss to LSU. Kickoff is set for 12:45 PM ET on Saturday, October 18.
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Oklahoma falls in rankings after rough rivalry loss to Texas
At 5-1 overall but 1-1 in conference play, the No. 14 Oklahoma Sooners find themselves at 9th in the crowded, top-heavy SEC standings heading into Week 8. They're two spots below the 4-2 Texas Longhorns team that they lost 23-6 against this past weekend, in a largely winnable game that wasn't nearly as one-sided as the score would suggest.
Sooners quarterback John Mateer had his worst game of the season, finishing the loss with 20 completions on 38 pass attempts for 202 yards. It was his first game of the season without a touchdown–either through the air or on the ground. His three interceptions in the game doubled his season total; his five sacks taken were more than he had through the team's first four games combined.
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Mateer missed the Kent State game (44-0 win) due to injury, but overall has been strong despite the rough game against Texas. He's now completing 64.2% of his passes for 1,417 yards with six TDs and six picks. The former Washington State signal-caller has five rushing touchdowns and 195 yards on the ground.
Oklahoma was only down 3-0 at the end of the first quarter and 6-3 at the end of the second, when Mateer threw his second interception to Texas cornerback Malik Muhammad. None of the Sooners' second-half drives traveled more than 30 yards, giving the Longhorns' offense (and punt return unit) plenty of runway to slowly put the game out of reach. The ground game didn't do much, either–Tory Blaylock led the backfield with 33 yards on 11 carries, and the team totaled only 48 yards on the ground between their attempts to run the ball and Mateer's sacks.
The Sooners rank 10th in the nation against the run, allowing just 84.8 yards per game. But Oklahoma is averaging just 122.3 rushing yards per game.
Can South Carolina hold up against better SEC competition?
The South Carolina Gamecocks are 3-3 overall and 1-3 in SEC play, putting them 12th out of 17 teams in the conference standings. They've secured their three wins against Virginia Tech (24-11), South Carolina State (38-10), and Kentucky (35-13) by decisive margins, but they've lost each of their three games against conference opponents currently ranked in the AP Top 25. Their most recent game was one of these losses–a 20-10 road loss against the No. 11 LSU Tigers, who won despite making more than enough mistakes to let the Gamecocks steal the game.
After that 20-10 loss, SC fired offensive line coach Lonnie Teasley. The Gamecocks committed six pre-snap penalties last week, and five came against the offensive line. South Carolina is averaging 9.6 penalties per game to rank near 135th in the nation. Shawn Elliott will take over as the OL coach for the rest of the season on an interim basis.
Neither quarterback looked great in this game, but LaNorris Sellers managed to look worse. The Gamecocks' sophomore completed 15 of 27 passes for 12 yards, averaging only a 55.6 completion percentage and 4.6 yards per attempt. He threw his second interception of the season in the second quarter, matched his season-high with five sacks taken, and netted only 19 yards on the ground over 22 credited rushing attempts. The team got solid performances out of their backfield–freshman back Matt Fuller ran for 83 yards and a touchdown on seven carries while senior Rahsul Faison went 68 yards on 13 carries–but it wasn't enough to overcome a day where the Gamecocks were outgained by 103 yards and committed 13 penalties.
On the year, Sellers is completing 64% of his passes for 1,010 yards with four TDs and two picks with 117 rushing yards and a TD. The Gamecocks average just 310 yards per game of offense to rank 123rd in the nation. Defensively, they are allowing 192.5 passing yards (40th) and 147 rushing yards (75th) per game.
Saturday's game against Oklahoma will mark the Gamecocks' fourth matchup against a currently ranked SEC opponent–and their first at home since they fell 31-7 against Vanderbilt in September. Oklahoma is coming off a poor showing against a ranked SEC rival themselves; we'll see if the Gamecocks get the Sooners' best ball or a reeling version of the 14th-ranked team.
Oklahoma Sooners vs. South Carolina Pick
Spread Pick for Oklahoma vs. South Carolina
- South Carolina +5.5 (-110) (4 Units)
The Gamecocks have played their last two ranked SEC opponents close–they lost 29-20 against Missouri and 20-10 against LSU, despite playing both games on the road. They'll face an Oklahoma team this week that's only played two SEC opponents so far: an Auburn team that they beat 24-17 at home and the Texas team they just fell 23-6 against on the road. The Gamecocks are 3-1 at home this season and beat Kentucky 35-13 in their most recent home game; I'd take them to keep things close against the Sooners, who are going to be down some after that loss to their bitter rival, Texas.
Over/Under Pick for Oklahoma vs. South Carolina
- Under 43.0 (-110) (4 Units)
The Team Total Under is 6-0 in Oklahoma games this season, and these two teams combined for 16 points against their respective opponents in Week 7. Oklahoma didn't allow any of their first five opponents this season to hit 20 points; South Carolina has only allowed one of their four opponents at home to score more than 13 points. These are two very solid defensive teams who don't run the ball very successfully.
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