The South Carolina Gamecocks are back off of a bye entering Week 8 of the college football season. Head coach Shane Beamer's squad is looking to get another upset victory this week, taking on the No. 11 Tennessee Volunteers in Williams-Brice Stadium.
The bye came at just the right time for the Gamecocks, as the team was dealing with several injuries leading into the Florida game two weeks ago. But Coach Beamer sounds optimistic coming off of the bye.
“The bye week came at a great time. We’ll have an injury report tomorrow, but all of the guys who missed the Florida game, we expect back for Tennessee,” Beamer said at his weekly press conference via Gamecock Central. “Quay’Sheed Scott would be the only one that’s a question mark right now. He’s certainly trending in the right direction, but everyone else that missed that game, we expect back from our standpoint.”
South Carolina was without defensive tackle Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy, EDGE rusher Julian Walker and starting center Carter Miller against the Gators. Although South Carolina won 38-19, having all three guys back will be critical going up against Tennessee this week. With a victory over the Vols, South Carolina would improve to 2-3 in SEC play on the season.
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As for Scott, the Gamecock defensive back left South Carolina's game against Kentucky and was taken to the hospital for evaluation. Scott so far this season has accounted for nine total tackles with three passes defended.
Brownlow-Dindy also saw several reps earlier this season on defense, but left the Mississippi State game with an apparent upper body injury and hasn't seen the field since. Getting starting center Carter Miller back will also be key for South Carolina this week, as the Vol defense is first in the nation in sacks so far this season, with 30 on the year.
South Carolina will have a tough task against Tennessee at home, as the Vols are coming off of a huge upset win over Alabama. The two former SEC East rivals are playing each other for the first time since the 2023 season.
The Gamecocks are listed as slight underdogs against the Vols at home.
Saturday's game will kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET and air live on ESPN.
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