Much has been made of Tennessee’s looming trip to Columbia, South Carolina this weekend, and rightfully so. The Volunteers, coming off of a massive win over then No. 6 Alabama in Knoxville last weekend, suddenly have some very serious College Football Playoff hopes. Sitting at 6-1, Tennessee simply needs to hold serve this weekend against a 3-3 South Carolina team — easier said than done.
Tennessee knows all about this spot, too. It was 2022 when one-loss Tennessee went down to Columbia and were blown out by the Gamecocks, who frankly were in the midst of another mediocre season. Out of nowhere, and perhaps questionably, South Carolina beat Tennessee 63-38 to end any chance of the Volunteers making the then 4-team bracket.
This year features a South Carolina team at home, coming off of a bye. Tennessee is coming off of a physical, emotional win over their top rival after playing for seven straight weeks. Not to mention, Williams-Brice has been a tough place for Tennessee to win over the past decade.
This Tennessee team is different though, at least schematically. Josh Heupel is still running the ball, but he’s doing it differently, leaning on two-tight end sets and playing truly smash-mouth football. Heupel is leaning on a veteran offensive line and running back DeSean Bishop, who has put away Auburn, Arkansas and Alabama in consecutive weeks.
On Saturday, they’ll face a really good run defense in South Carolina.
“(South Carolina) has been really good against the run, not giving up many yards, not giving up many yards per carry,” Josh Heupel said earlier this week. “It’ll be another big test for us up front.”
South Carolina gives up just 103 yards per game on the ground, which is good for 24th nationally. The Gamecocks held Florida star running back Jadan Baugh to just 59 yards. They held Kentucky to 3.3 yards per carry the week before.
Tennessee brings a unit averaging 217 yards per game to the table. It’s an offense that’s lacking a bit in the passing game, but one that makes up for it with physicality in the rushing attack.
“Really, really good football team running the ball,” South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer said this week. “Two teams, us and them, that both want to run the ball. They’ve always been that way as an offense, but they are doing a great job of it this year. Really physical is what jumps out when you watch them on tape.”
Alabama, who got out to a big lead on South Carolina through the air, only had 124 yards rushing against South Carolina. Mississippi State had a similar output, with Kamario Taylor throwing for 251 yards and four touchdowns.
“They do a great job, and they’re a physical bunch, and always have been, and maybe winning a little bit differently this way, and playing a little bit different style-wise,” Beamer said.
While the rushing numbers defensively look good, South Carolina’s passing defense has been shaky. Perhaps that’s the explanation, with the Gamecocks ranking 107th in passing yards allowed so far this season. Could George MacIntyre take advantage? We really haven’t seen him do that just yet, but the opportunities will undoubtedly be there.
Tennessee will start on the ground, and there’s no doubt about that. Just like we saw against Alabama though, that run game opened up opportunities in the passing game, even if they were short. Keeping South Carolina honest and getting some bodies out of the box will be a key in this one.
Kickoff is set for Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN. South Carolina is a 2.5 point favorite.