Week 6 Opponent Preview: South Carolina Gamecocks
Following back-to-back road games against a tough Florida squad and a solid Mizzou team, Tennessee heads back to Knoxville on October 9 for Week 6 to take on the South Carolina Gamecocks.
Let's recap. Tennessee will face two lackluster opponents in Bowling Green and Tennessee Tech, two middling opponents in Mizzou and Pitt and one stellar opponent in Florida before Week 6, meaning their record will be 4-1 best case scenario and 2-3 worst case scenario. Week 6 will see the Vols take on the Gamecocks, a rematch of Tennessee's 2020 opener that resulted in a 31-27 victory for Vol Nation. In 2020, the Vols were bad, but South Carolina was worse. A 2-8 record followed by the firing of your head coach is not a pretty ending to any season, so the Gamecocks will be looking to rebound in 2021 under new HC Shane Beamer, son of long-time Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer.
South Carolina is not an opponent Tennessee fans should be sweating over. As long as the Vols are playing smart, 60-minute football, this game should be another day at the office that is Neyland Stadium. However, every SEC team has its talent, and South Carolina will be desperately trying to prove to other teams and themselves that they can still compete, so let's take a look at what the Gamecocks bring to the field:
What to Look for on Offense
In 2020, the Gamecock offense was bad. South Carolina was only able to muster 355 yards and 24 points a game. Why? It's hard to pinpoint. The running game did okay behind a mediocre O-line, and the passing game wasn't nonexistent. There were just no big plays, and in college football explosiveness is key to winning games.
The good news for the Gamecocks is that their offense will be better in 2021, hopefully. The quarterback situation is cloudy due to the fact that 2020's leading passer Collin Hill is gone, as the contenders for the starting gig are Luke Doty and freshman Colten Gauthier, with Doty the likely candidate to earn it. Whoever becomes the starter under center for the Gamecocks will need their receivers to show up, as South Carolina's leading receiver in 2020, Shi Smith, is in the pros. The good news is that second-leading receiver, TE Nick Muse, is coming back for his super-senior season, joining speedsters Georgia Tech transfer Ahmarean Brown and junior Xavier Legette as the top pass catchers for the Gamecocks this year.
The running game is the bright spot of this offensive unit. Four starters are coming back on the O-line. Granted, South Carolina's offensive line was not an amazing unit by any stretch, but at least they have the experience and chemistry of playing together. They will be blocking for the fun duo of leading rusher Kevin Harris and MarShawn Lloyd, who was a four-star prospect in the 2020 class.
What to Look for on Defense
The Gamecock defense will more than likely not have the talent it did in 2020, as the 2020 season was the final season for Jaycee Horn, who was the No. 8 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. South Carolina also had to see two other corners leave via the transfer portal, so the secondary does not look promising considering South Carolina's 2020 fourth-leading tackler Jaylan Foster is the top dog in 2021.
The defense will work around the linebackers, as the experienced duo of Mo Kaba and Sherrod Greene will be a big help for the Gamecock defense. However, to make a big step up from last year, the front four has to be better to make South Carolina's front seven something to lose sleep over, and it more than likely will be. The trio of South Carolina's 2020 leading sacker Kingsley Enagbare, Georgia State transfer Jordan Strachan and 300-pound interior man Zacch Pickens will make Tennessee running backs struggle at times in Week 6.
The Bottom Line
South Carolina's offense has to be better than last year. Despite the uncertainty of the QB situation, the running game will be better than its 168 yards per game mark in 2020 and the receiving corps, while inexperienced, has a lot of speed and upside. No matter what, though, Tennessee's defense will get the best of the Gamecock offense. South Carolina will put up some points to make it interesting at times, but Tennessee has good enough corners to keep up with the speedy receivers and will be able to stack the box at any time of their choosing, putting South Carolina's running game to the test.
Josh Heupel's fast paced offense will be too much for the Gamecock defense. The secondary will get torched, and even though the running game might not have its best week for the Vols in Week 6, dink-and-dunk passes will keep South Carolina from playing way back.
The third SEC opponent for Tennessee in 2021 will be the easiest yet, and it will be the first time Neyland Stadium not only hosts an SEC foe in 2021, but nabs a victory in the process.
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