Tennessee’s trip to South Carolina on Saturday comes with a familiar face on the whistle.
Referee David Smith, who was also assigned to the Vols’ 2022 loss in Columbia, will work the game at Williams-Brice Stadium. That meeting ended in a stunning upset for Tennessee and wiped out UT’s College Football Playoff hopes in the old four-team format.
Smith has another layer of familiarity with the SEC spotlight: he was a quarterback at Alabama from 1985-1988. Over his college career, he appeared in 21 games, completed 59.6% of his passes and totaled 1,983 yards with 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He lost his first game against Tennessee while playing for the Crimson Tide, then won the final three games of his career against the Vols.
Tennessee also had Smith on the officiating crew in a game last season, when the Vols beat Mississippi State in overtime on the road.
Beyond that, there isn’t much baggage attached to Smith. He’s viewed as a strong official and has not been part of many controversies.
The matchup is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Tennessee enters as the No. 11 team in the country, but South Carolina is still the betting favorite. FanDuel and most sportsbooks listed the Gamecocks as 2.5-point favorites early in the week, after Tennessee opened as a 2.5-point favorite on Sunday.
Historically, Tennessee has handled the series well. The Vols are 29-11-2 all-time against South Carolina, including a 10-8-2 mark in road games. Their most recent win in Columbia came in the 2020 season opener, played in front of a limited crowd because of COVID.
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Tennessee Just Lost Another Key Piece Up Front
Tennessees offensive line had been trending in the right direction before Donovan Haslam went down in the first half against South Carolina, giving the unit a little more stability after recent games with fewer sacks allowed. Haslam had settled in at right guard, and his presence helped the Volunteers keep building around an up-front group that had started to look more settled.
His upper-body injury forced another in-game shuffle, with Shamurad Umarov stepping in as Tennessee had to adjust on the fly. For a line that had finally found some traction, losing a key interior piece in the middle of a game is the kind of setback that can quickly change the feel of the entire offense. [Read more 🡒]
Mike Matthews Gave Tennessee The Jolt It Desperately Needed
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Tennessee Faces Its First Real Road Pressure Since Alabama
After the Alabama trip, Tennessee is back in a spot that should feel familiar and a little uncomfortable: another road test, another SEC environment, and another game where the Vols will be measured as much by their composure as by their talent. The matchup with South Carolina has drawn plenty of attention inside the fan base because it brings together a Tennessee offense that wants to lean on the run game and a defense that will have to keep a close eye on Gamecocks quarterback LaNorris Sellers.
Around Vols on SI, the discussion has centered on how the Volunteers handle those pressure points, from DeSean Bishop and Braylon Staley on the offensive side to the need for steady defensive pressure throughout the night. It is the kind of road game that can expose small issues quickly, which is why so much of the preview work has focused on strategy, matchups and the details that decide close conference games. [Read more 🡒]