Tennessee heads into its trip to South Carolina as a slight favorite after the program’s biggest recent statement at home.
The Vols rolled past Alabama 26-10 and now have to reset quickly for a road game against a Gamecocks team that is coming off a bye week. FanDuel opened Tennessee at -2.5, with the Vols listed at -137 on the money line and South Carolina at +114.
The total sits at 50.5 points, which points to a game in the neighborhood of a 27-24 Tennessee win.
South Carolina brings a 3-3 record into the matchup and is 1-3 in SEC play. Its lone league victory came on the road against Florida last week, a result that gave Shane Beamer a much-needed boost before an extra week of preparation.
Tennessee is trying to keep its focus locked in after the Alabama win. The Vols are 6-1 overall and 3-1 in the SEC, with their only loss coming to then-top-ranked Texas by three points at home.
“This game, you better enjoy it on the back end, and they should tonight,” Heupel said. “I did for, I don’t know, however long I was in the locker room.
As coaches, when I get home here in about 45 minutes, I’ll be over it and onto the next one, and how do we get better? Our players, they get a little bit longer, and they come in and get treatment.
“But Monday morning, you deal with the reality of how do we get better? And we certainly understand, you guys are certainly tired of me saying it, every week in this league, new season.
And we understand where we’re going, who we’re playing. They’ve had a bye week, so they got a week of preparation on us.
We gotta make up ground and get ready to go play on the road.”
Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET in Columbia, South Carolina. The game will be shown on ESPN or SEC Network.
In Other News...
Tennessee's Celebration Just Added Another Twist To This Alabama Rivalry
The postgame celebration in Knoxville came with a costly catch. After Tennessees win over Alabama, the Southeastern Conference fined the university $500,000 for violating its access to competition area policy, punishing the fan rush onto the field that followed one of the programs biggest victories in recent memory. The leagues policy is designed to keep spectators out of competition areas for safety, and it only allows exceptions when procedures are approved in advance and clearly communicated.
The money will go to Alabama, adding another layer to a rivalry that already had plenty of juice. Tennessee still has a path to have the fine reduced if it can show it tried to prevent the field storming or that there was only minimal interaction during the scene, but for now the SEC has made clear that the celebration crossed a line it wasnt willing to ignore. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Faces A Brutal Truth After Tennessee Exposed This Weakness
Alabamas trip to Tennessee ended with a 26-10 loss that put a familiar SEC test back in sharp focus: the line of scrimmage. ESPN analyst Greg McElroy pointed to the Tides struggles up front and the offensive turnovers as major reasons the game tilted, even as Alabamas defense did enough to keep things from getting away from them early.
Tennessee, meanwhile, leaned on its running game to control the contest and keep pressure on a Tide offense that never found much rhythm. The result dropped Alabama to 5-2 overall and 3-2 in SEC play, with Texas A&M next on the schedule as the Tide try to answer a question that was exposed in a hurry in Knoxville. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessee's Alabama Celebration Just Reignited A Debate Vols Fans Know Well
The celebration in Knoxville is already carrying a pricey reminder. Tennessee was fined $500,000 by the Southeastern Conference after fans stormed the field following the football game against Alabama, a scene that quickly turned a big win into a league issue. Under SEC policy, spectators are not supposed to enter the field except in specific circumstances, and the penalty is being passed along to Alabama.
There is still a possible path to a smaller bill if Tennessee can show it made efforts to keep fans off the field, but the visuals from Saturday make that a tough case to sell. Video showed a large number of fans spilling onto the turf, which is exactly the kind of moment the conference has tried to discourage as it keeps revisiting how to handle field-storming celebrations. [Read more 🡒]