The South Carolina Gamecocks enjoyed a bye week during a chaotic Week 7 in college football, during which five Top-10 teams went down. One of those upsets was from the Gamecocks' next opponent, the Tennessee Volunteers.
The Vols played Alabama at home, and despite the Tide being favored, Tennessee pulled off a big 26-10 upset win. The win gave Tennessee its third victory in a row over Alabama in Knoxville, as Vol fans smoked cigars in celebration after the win.
While South Carolina was idle this week and was listed as an early 1.5-point favorite, we've already seen that line shift after Tennessee's big win at home.
Per DraftKings Sportsbook, South Carolina is now listed as a 2.5-point underdog at home.
Odds change periodically and are subject to change.
Saturday marks the first time these two SEC rivals will meet since 2023. That year, the Vols won 41-20 in Knoxville. Gamecock head coach Shane Beamer is 1-2 all-time against Tennessee, with his lone victory coming during South Carolina's 63-23 win over the Vols in Columbia.
The Gamecock defense will have its work cut out for it going up against the Vol offense. Against Alabama, Tennessee running back DeSean Bishop led the way with 159 yards on the ground with two touchdowns. He averaged five yards a carry on the ground, as well.
Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel started George MacIntyre for the second week in a row as signal-caller Faizon Brandon remains out with an injury. Although he threw two interceptions and no touchdowns, he had 21 completions for 197 yards in the win.
On defense, the Vols also played well against the Tide, holding Alabama to just 10 points, and allowed the Tide to convert on just 2-of-13 on third down, and 1-for-3 on fourth down conversion attempts.
With the loss, Alabama officially lost consecutive regular-season games for the first time since 2007, Nick Saban's first year in Tuscaloosa. That year, Alabama finished 7-6 on the season.
The good news for South Carolina is that the Gamecocks host the Vols at home. But Tennessee has played well on the road, beating Georgia Tech 45-24 and Arkansas 24-17 away from home so far this season.
Regardless of the shift in point spread, Saturday's contest is expected to be a close matchup. The game at Williams-Brice will kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET, and will air live on ESPN.
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