No. 11 Tennessee comes into Williams-Brice for a 3:30 kickoff six days after beating Alabama, and somehow South Carolina is the favorite. I'll take the Vols to win it. Start with the best unit on the field, Jim Knowles's Tennessee defense. Alabama scores 39.3 a game and got 10 in Knoxville: 26 runs for 54, 2-of-13 on third down, five sacks. Texas ran 36 times for 61. Arkansas went 2-of-11 on third down. That's four straight SEC opponents stuck on third down, not one good night. South Carolina's defense hasn't stopped anyone good through the air. Alabama went 21-of-27 for 365, Florida 27-of-36 for 267, Kentucky 28-of-41 for 272, and Mississippi State threw five touchdowns. Those are strong offenses, but none of them had to work. Quay'sheed Scott sitting out isn't a new hole, because Scott missed Florida too. Tennessee's offense is DeSean Bishop: 34 carries for 220 against Auburn, 32 for 159 against Alabama. George MacIntyre has won all three starts without carrying the load. Bishop runs into a defense that has given SEC teams 120 to 135 rushing yards, which keeps MacIntyre out of obvious passing downs. South Carolina's 3-3 cuts both ways. The Gamecocks blew halftime leads against Kentucky and Mississippi State with turnovers. But their best win, 38-19 at Florida, rode three takeaways on roughly even yardage. That's an average SEC team. What I'm not weighing:
- Tennessee's six season-ending injuries, since that same roster beat Alabama
- Heupel not naming a quarterback
- Carter Miller coming back while Seth Smith is out
- The bye-week and letdown stories
- The Alabama common-opponent comparison, which stacks two noisy games The danger is real. LaNorris Sellers ran for 147 against Kentucky, and Auburn's Byrum Brown led a run game that went 32 carries for 186 against this defense. MacIntyre threw three picks across the last two games. If Tennessee gives away possessions and Sellers gets loose, South Carolina wins this one. But the market has these teams about even on a neutral field, and Tennessee is the better team. When the better team is getting plus money, I'll take it straight up.
No. 11 Tennessee comes into Williams-Brice for a 3:30 kickoff six days after beating Alabama, and somehow South Carolina is the favorite. I'll take the Vols to win it.
Start with the best unit on the field, Jim Knowles's Tennessee defense. Alabama scores 39.3 a game and got 10 in Knoxville: 26 runs for 54, 2-of-13 on third down, five sacks. Texas ran 36 times for 61. Arkansas went 2-of-11 on third down. That's four straight SEC opponents stuck on third down, not one good night.
South Carolina's defense hasn't stopped anyone good through the air. Alabama went 21-of-27 for 365, Florida 27-of-36 for 267, Kentucky 28-of-41 for 272, and Mississippi State threw five touchdowns. Those are strong offenses, but none of them had to work. Quay'sheed Scott sitting out isn't a new hole, because Scott missed Florida too.
Tennessee's offense is DeSean Bishop: 34 carries for 220 against Auburn, 32 for 159 against Alabama. George MacIntyre has won all three starts without carrying the load. Bishop runs into a defense that has given SEC teams 120 to 135 rushing yards, which keeps MacIntyre out of obvious passing downs.
South Carolina's 3-3 cuts both ways. The Gamecocks blew halftime leads against Kentucky and Mississippi State with turnovers. But their best win, 38-19 at Florida, rode three takeaways on roughly even yardage. That's an average SEC team.
What I'm not weighing:
- Tennessee's six season-ending injuries, since that same roster beat Alabama
- Heupel not naming a quarterback
- Carter Miller coming back while Seth Smith is out
- The bye-week and letdown stories
- The Alabama common-opponent comparison, which stacks two noisy games
The danger is real. LaNorris Sellers ran for 147 against Kentucky, and Auburn's Byrum Brown led a run game that went 32 carries for 186 against this defense. MacIntyre threw three picks across the last two games. If Tennessee gives away possessions and Sellers gets loose, South Carolina wins this one.
But the market has these teams about even on a neutral field, and Tennessee is the better team. When the better team is getting plus money, I'll take it straight up.
Tennessee Moneyline