ESPN's "College GameDay" panel was split on who to pick for Tennessee football vs. South Carolina.
Analysts Desmond Howard and Pat McAfee as well as guest picker Dalton Kincaid picked Tennessee to win during the show, which aired from Salt Lake City on Oct. 24. Former Alabama coach Nick Saban and analyst Kirk Herbstreit favored the Gamecocks.
The No. 11 Vols (6-1, 3-1 SEC) play at South Carolina (3-3, 1-3) on Oct. 24 (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) at Williams-Brice Stadium.
Howard started by pointing out the point spread, which has Tennessee has a 2.5-point underdog. Listed below the spread was a fan poll, showing 82% of fans think Tennessee will win.
"Am I reading this right?" Howard said. "South Carolina's favored in this game?"
Howard picked Tennessee, and McAfee and Kincaid agreed. McAfee was also confused by the spread and said that he "should be picking South Carolina" but was going with the Vols. Kincaid's reasoning was more straightforward.
"Keep it simple," he said. "I'm going Rocky Top."
Saban and Herbstreit picked South Carolina. Saban said that while he thinks Tennessee has a better team, he expects South Carolina to come through with a win at home. Herbstreit pointed to the quarterback position, saying that he expects a strong performance from Gamecocks quarterback LaNorris Sellers and that it will be Tennessee quarterback George MacIntyre's first start in a hostile road environment.
MacIntyre, a sophomore, is 2-0 as the starter this year, but his one road win was at Arkansas before the Vols beat Alabama at home last weekend.
'SEC Nation' favors Tennessee over South Carolina
There was more alignment on SEC Network's "SEC Nation" pregame show, which was visiting Auburn after airing from Tennessee last week before the Vols played Alabama.
All but one member of the panel chose Tennessee to beat South Carolina. Roman Harper picked the Gamecocks, but Paul Finebaum, Tim Tebow and Chase Daniel all picked the Vols.
Emmett Siegel covers Tennessee baseball for Knox News. Email: emmett.siegel@knoxnews.com; X: @EmmettSiegel_
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: ESPN's 'College GameDay' panel split on Tennessee football vs South Carolina