South Carolina Game Preview
It was only a matter of time before the offense put it all together. Missouri was the hapless victim. Tennessee scored 62 points, the most since beating Missouri 63-37 in 2016. This was also the first time since 1994 that Tennessee scored over 60 points in an SEC road game. Vandy was the hapless victim that day in a 65-0 beating. Of course playing at Vandy was a glorified home game in those days. It still is really. This was also the worst beating Missouri has suffered since they came to the SEC. In fact, it's their worst loss since a 62-21 beating at the hands of Oklahoma in the 2008 Big XII Championship Game. A few weeks ago, I predicted a day like this was coming.
All week I've heard people trying to downplay what Tennessee did to Missouri. Keep in mind, Tennessee was a 2.5 point underdog. Yeah, Missouri's defense was bad. But it's like people don't want to give Tennessee any credit for that performance. Like they can't let go of the preseason perception that Tennessee was going to be awful and lucky to win 5 games. The fact is, that's the fewest amount of points Missouri has scored all year. Maybe I'm going out on a limb here, but bad teams don't give teams like Missouri their worst loss in 13 years. Bad teams don't score 62 points on the road against conference teams. Let's face it. The calculus has changed a bit. And it's okay to admit that your preseason perception was wrong. Preseason narratives are wrong all the time in college football. Each year is different and each team has different chemistry. Say what you will about Josh Heupel, but he has the culture of this team heading in the right direction. They play hard for him and for each other. They have a great team chemistry. And the offense is finally starting to click. Scoring points is fun and this team hasn't had a lot of fun the last few years.
A lot of people are worried about South Carolina coming in here and giving Tennessee a game. It's possible. They do create a lot of turnovers on defense and their defensive line is pretty good. The rest of their team is just average to below average though. Their offense has struggled a lot and they've only faced two real defenses in Kentucky and Georgia. They've squeaked out wins against East Carolina and Troy and blew out Eastern Illinois.
Offensively, Tennessee should be able to attack South Carolina through the air a little more than they did Missouri. It will be important for Hendon Hooker to take care of the ball. Turnovers are really the only prayer South Carolina has to win this game. Tennessee should also have success on the ground with some read option here and there. The Gamecocks give up 141 yards per game on the ground. South Carolina has a good defense, but Tennessee has faced better in Pitt and Florida. I don't think Heupel will have any problem scheming up some points.
Defensively, Tennessee should be able to keep the game in front of them. Carolina only puts up about 329 yards total per game. About 122 on the ground and about 207 through the air. Tennessee should be able to get some pressure on Doty, as the Gamecocks give up about 2 sacks per game.
Carolina has a path to victory but it's a very narrow one. Tennessee will have to turn over the ball a lot and their defense will have to hold the Vols in check for the entirety of the game. Neither seems very likely.
Tennessee(-10.5) 38
South Carolina 17
In other games...
Oklahoma(-3.5) 34
Texas 29
Arkansas(+5.5) 27
Ole Miss 25
Georgia 31
Auburn(+15.5) 20
Nebraska(+3.5) 35
Michigan 31
LSU(+3.5) 32
Kentucky 24
Alabama(-17.5) 42
Texas A&M 20
Last Week 4-3(3-4 ATS) Overall Record 22-11(21-12 ATS)
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As always, I appreciate everyone who takes the time to read this. Thank you for making me a small part of your pregame. Cherish every football game. We will be halfway through the season after Saturday.
Have a great football weekend everyone. Go Vols and God Bless!