It’s a clash of teams from the East Division of the SEC on the gridiron in the Palmetto State. The #5 Tennessee Volunteers are on the road as they take the trip to face the South Carolina Gamecocks Saturday night. Tennessee pulverized Missouri 66-24 at home last Saturday, easily covering the 18.5-point line in the contest. South Carolina was drubbed 38-6 on the road by Florida last Saturday, failing to come anywhere near covering as a nine-point underdog in their previous game. In the all-time series between the teams, the Volunteers own a 28-10-2 advantage and have won the last three meetings. That includes a 45-20 home victory in the most recent meeting on October 9, 2021.
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Tennessee bounced back from their first loss of the season as they clobbered Missouri at home in their previous contest. The Volunteers ran their record to 9-1 overall and 5-1 in the SEC: they look for another important win here to try and stay in the conversation for the CFP. Against Missouri, Tennessee was even at seven after one quarter, led 28-17 at the half and was up 28-24 with under nine minutes to play in the third quarter. The Volunteers scored two plays later to trigger 38 unanswered points to turn things into a rout. Tennessee set a school record as they won the total offense battle 724-389, rolled up 33 first downs while allowing 16 and forced the game’s lone turnover to offset losing time of possession 34:00 to 26:00 in the contest.
The Volunteers are good offensively this season as they are 2nd in passing offense as they average 348.2 yards per game through the air. T ennessee is 28th in rushing offense as they put up an average of 195.5 yards per contest on the ground. The Volunteers are a stellar 1st of the 131 FBS teams to take the field this season in scoring offense as they averaged 47.4 points per contest. Tennessee is 38th in scoring defense as they allowed an average of 21.9 points a contest. Hendon Hooker is 204 of 287 passing for 2,888 yards with 24 touchdowns and two interceptions this season. He contributes 405 yards and five scores on the ground. Joe Milton III (19 of 25, 465 yards, five TD, 55 rush yards) is the backup to Hooker. The run game is paced by a 1-2 punch that includes Jabari Small, who has 122 carries for 537 yards and nine scores this season. Jaylon Wright (124 carries, 598 yards, eight TD) is the top rusher this season in the run game. Jalin Hyatt leads the team with 58 receptions for 1,116 yards plus 15 touchdowns this season. Bru McCoy (45 catches, 600 yards, two TD), Ramel Keyton (22 receptions, 417 yards, four TD), Cedric Tillman (28 grabs, 336 yards, TD) and Squirrel White (12 receptions, 259 yards, TD) are all over the 250-yard mark in receiving yards. Chase McGrath has drilled 53 of 55 extra point attempts and 14 of 18 field goal tries this season with a long of 51. Toby Wilson is five of six on extra point attempts and has not attempted a field goal this season.