Final thoughts, prediction as South Carolina heads into SEC battle vs. Tennessee
Shane Beamer’s first-year operation is headed for the mountains.
Saturday, South Carolina (3-2, 0-2 SEC) hits the road for a date on Rocky Top with a Tennessee team (3-2, 1-1 SEC) that’s breaking in a new coach of its own in former UCF head coach and Missouri offensive coordinator Josh Heupel.
Heupel’s hiring by his former boss Danny White was panned throughout college football circles this offseason, coupled with a roster that saw 29 players transfer out between December 2020 and the start of the 2021 season. But the Volunteers have found a recent offensive rhythm.
Tennessee went to Missouri last week and took the Tigers to the woodshed and then some. The Vols piled up 62 points and almost 700 yards of offense — including 458 yards on the ground — in their largest scoring output since notching 63 points against, coincidentally, Missouri in 2016.
Heupel and his staff have bounced between Michigan transfer Joe Milton and Virginia Tech import Hendon Hooker at quarterback. But after an erratic start from Milton, Hooker has largely controlled the job over the past four weeks.
The Volunteers also trot out a talented tailback tandem in Tiyon Evans and Jabari Small, who both sit in the top 12 in the Southeastern Conference in rushing.
For South Carolina, another week marks another chance at finding the offensive consistency the Gamecocks have lacked over the first month-plus of the season. USC currently sits 11th in rushing, 12th in passing and 13th in total offense in the SEC.
Struggles aside, quarterback Luke Doty has quickly cemented himself under center. Doty set career marks in attempts, yards and completions a week ago as offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield opened up the playbook.
The former four-star recruit has been poised and precise in the pocket, completing just a shade under 60% of his passes with three touchdowns to just one interception. Doty has also already surpassed his totals for attempts, completions and passing yards from last season.
For Doty to be successful on Saturday, he’ll need help from a rushing attack that has floundered out of the gate. Starting tailback Kevin Harris ran for over 1,100 yards in 10 SEC games a season ago, but he has yet to run for more than 49 yards in a game this year. That said, Harris has steadily increased his yardage output each of the last four weeks.
Defensively, South Carolina continues to work ahead of schedule under defensive coordinator Clayton White. The Gamecocks are tied for the league lead with Alabama in turnover margin, while safety Jaylan Foster is still tied for first nationally with four interceptions.
Like the offense, South Carolina’s defense has struggled some against the ground game in 2021. USC is allowing an average of 207 rushing yards per game in SEC play, and FBS opponents have run for at least 116 yards and a touchdown against the Gamecocks in every game this year.
A loss Saturday wouldn’t exactly put South Carolina’s bowl aspirations on life support, but it’d make the mountain to climb increasingly steep. With games against No. 18 Auburn, No. 20 Florida, Texas A&M and Clemson still on the docket, USC would almost certainly need to pick off a favorite down the stretch to hit that six-win threshold.
Squeaking out a victory in Knoxville, though, would go against more than 100 years of history. South Carolina has played at Tennessee 20 times since 1916. It’s won just four of those meetings — all of which have come in the last 16 years.
South Carolina and Tennessee have trended toward close games since the turn of the century. In the 21 meetings since 2000, 15 of the contests have been decided by one score and neither team has beaten the other by more than 21 points.
South Carolina, like Tennessee, grows further from its glory days by the week. In a matchup that pits two first-year head coaches and a pair of programs that sit firmly in the SEC East’s middle section, a win for either squad would do wonders toward a potential postseason berth.
But with South Carolina’s offense still struggling and Tennessee’s recent propensity for points, look for the Volunteers to run away with this one.
DJ — hit the music.
“Good ol’ Rocky Top. Rocky Top, Tennessee”
— Prediction: Tennessee 34, South Carolina 17 —
This story was originally published October 8, 2021 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Final thoughts, prediction as South Carolina heads into SEC battle vs. Tennessee."
