South Carolina Football: How to watch, storylines, injuries, expert picks, predictions vs. Tennessee

South Carolina football fans have a mixed bag of expectations regarding this weekend. The Gamecocks are traveling to a tough road environment in Knoxville, Tennessee where the Volunteers are the favorite to exact some revenge against Carolina.

Both South Carolina and Tennessee have hopes of finishing in the top half of the SEC East, but an early season conference loss for each team (@ Georgia for the Gamecocks and @ Florida for the Vols) means that this matchup is vitally important in achieving this goal.

South Carolina Football vs. Tennessee:
How to watch

A capacity crowd at Neyland Stadium will be out for blood against a South Carolina football team that smacked the Vols 63-38 last season to crush their College Football Playoff hopes.

That crowd will be loud and engaged for the 7:30 kickoff. The game will be broadcast on the SECNetwork and the ESPN app.

South Carolina Football vs. Tennessee:
Storylines to watch

The main matchups to watch in this game will be in the trenches and outside in the passing game.

Can South Carolina’s offensive line protect Spencer Rattler and gain a little push in the run game? Can the Gamecock defensive front slow down Tennessee’s SEC-leading rushing attack? Can either team’s inconsistent secondary slow down the two rocket-armed quarterbacks and speedy receivers? The answers to those questions likely will determine the winner of the game.

If South Carolina football is to win their second straight against UT, the team’s inexperienced offensive line must hold up. Spencer Rattler has shown that if he has enough time, he is one of the country’s best passers. Xavier Legette has been an elite producer at wide receiver, leading the country in receiving yards.

Tennessee’s pass defense has not been elite in 2023, but they’ve been much better than they were a season ago as they returned more contributors than most of the SEC, including 8 starters on defense.

Carolina was porous in the run game against North Carolina and Georgia, but against the former top rushing attack in the SEC (Mississippi State), the Gamecocks held the conference’s leading rusher Woody Marks to just 27 yards and the whole Bulldog team to under 40 yards. For the Gamecocks to pull off the road win, the defensive front will need to look more like the Mississippi State version of the team than the UNC/UGA edition.

Injuries are a storyline heading into this game. Carolina will be without Juice Wells once again this weekend as the preseason All-American recovers from his foot injury. Fellow receiver Ahmarean Brown is believed to be ready to return.

For Tennessee, quarterback Joe Milton is expected to play, but he hurt his knee last week against Texas-San Antonio. If he is limited in his ability to scramble, the Gamecocks could have a better shot to get pressure on the Vol quarterback, and any rushing yards he might have picked up with his legs could be lessened, as well.

Tennessee football is “activating dark mode” this weekend, meaning they are wearing black uniforms. Despite the color not being an official color of the Volunteer team, this will be the third time they have broken out the black jerseys against Carolina.

Gamecock head coach Shane Beamer was a graduate assistant at the University of Tennessee from 2001-2003, and he earned a Master’s Degree from the school. However, it appears as if the Gamecock headman and UT’s Josh Heupel are not the best of friends despite their orange and white connection.

South Carolina Football vs. Tennessee:
What experts are saying

The spread in this game is bigger than one might think. Most betting lines have this between an 11.5 and 12.5-point advantage for the Volunteers.

ESPN’s Football Power Index gives Tennessee a 70.2% chance of pulling off the victory.

The college football team at FoxSports picked Tennessee to win and cover on Saturday night.

The Greenville News’ Emily Adams picked Tennessee to win the game but for the Gamecocks to keep the score closer than the spread. Her score prediction was 38-31 in favor of the Vols.

South Carolina Football vs. Tennessee:
Official Garnet and Cocky prediction

Tennessee has only played one quality opponent so far in 2023. South Carolina football has played three. That means that the Vols are likely a little bit worse than their stats would indicate, while the Gamecocks are a little bit better than theirs seem to show. Saturday’s matchup between SEC East rivals, on paper, should be closer than the betting line.

With a potentially limited Joe Milton and a fired-up crowd behind them, fans should expect the Tennessee offense to lean heavily on their offensive line’s run blocking prowess to set the tone for the night. If UT lands this first punch, it could go a long way in the game as the rabid Tennessee crowd will continue to froth at the mouth if their team performs well.

Tennessee also leads the conference in sacks this season, while the Gamecocks have surrendered the most sacks. A few hits on Spencer Rattler will keep the crowd energized and potentially kill some Gamecock scoring opportunities. In a game that likely will not be low-scoring, South Carolina cannot afford to come up empty more than a few times in the night.

Tennessee has a more talented roster from top to bottom, but the talent discrepancy is smaller than in 2022, and the Gamecocks won that game running away. Anything will be possible on Saturday night in Knoxville, but the “most likely scenarios” seem to lean toward a Volunteer victory.

Fans should expect the Gamecocks to lose on the line of scrimmage just enough to fall behind. This game looks like it could be similar to South Carolina’s game against Mississippi State last week, just in reverse: the matchup will be close, but the winning team will maintain clear control of things for almost the entire game.

A Gamecock upset is very possible on Saturday, but it will require a really good game from Shane Beamer’s squad for that to happen. The scoreboard should light up early and often this weekend, and if Clayton White’s defense can’t limit Josh Heupel and Joey Halzle’s offense, the Gamecocks won’t be able to keep up.