We have officially entered the heart of the college football season, and we have ourselves an exciting SEC matchup, as the South Carolina Gamecocks travel to Knoxville to take on the Tennessee Volunteers. Tennessee comes into this game with a 3-1 record, following a bounceback win vs UTSA, while the Gamecocks sit at 2-2, coming off their first SEC win of the season. Both teams need a win in a big way to jumpstart their season and gain some momentum moving forward.
South Carolina had decently big expectations heading into the year, after a strong finish to last year to end 8-4, but things haven’t gone as smoothly as they would have liked so far. This is not necessarily the fault of their QB, Spencer Rattler, however, as he’s done a nice job of not turning the ball over this season, something that he’s struggled with at times in the past. However, oftentimes he’s been under a lot of pressure, as his offensive line has struggled to hold up in each of their losses. The Gamecocks are coming off a breakthrough game though, a 37-30 home win against Mississippi State for their first conference win of the season, but it’ll only get tougher from here on out.Â
Tennessee had a brief break from conference play last week, as they hosted and beat UTSA 45-14. The Volunteers are hoping that’ll get them going as they head back into SEC play, after dropping their SEC opener at Florida in week 3. Joe Milton took over the QB1 role this season, after Hendon Hooker was drafted by the Detroit Lions, and he’s been solid so far with 8 touchdowns against just 1 interception, but it still feels like he’s not playing fully up to his potential. Tennessee has had a great rushing attack so far though, with 4 players averaging over 6 yards per carry, each with over 20 attempts. This is a must win game for Tennessee as a home favorite, in order to avoid dropping to 0-2 in SEC play, and I believe they will have a dominant effort at home to come out on top vs. Spencer Rattler and the Gamecocks.
