Final thoughts, prediction for primetime South Carolina-Tennessee matchup
What happens when an unstoppable force meets a movable object? We’re about to find out.
South Carolina limps into a head-on collision with the high-flying Tennessee offense and Heisman front-runner quarterback Hendon Hooker on Saturday in Columbia.
“(UT) is a group that every starter on offense and every starter on defense is a junior or a senior,” USC head coach Shane Beamer said. “When we talk about veteran groups, these guys have played a lot of football and it shows. They’re playing at a really, really high level.”
Beamer’s squad was manhandled last week by a Florida team that has been, well, average at best for most of the 2022 season. The Gamecocks offense sputtered, again, as the Gators raced to 362 yards and 24 points in the first half alone.
Next up? The South Carolina defense gets to face a Tennessee squad that has looked unbeatable outside of its loss to No. 1 Georgia two weeks ago.
“We thought we hit rock bottom against Missouri,” USC offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield said. “We came back and had a good game (against Vanderbilt) and then we hit rock bottom against Florida with the turnovers, inconsistency and the penalties.
“We’ve had our two worst games the last three weeks. Multiply that by a million and that’s how we feel right now. But I think just going out there and and running the football and making some plays early, I think will allow us to get into that rhythm.”
Hooker has been one of the biggest revelations in the Southeastern Conference the nation this season. His 181.81 passer rating is the second-best mark in the country. He’s also tops in the SEC with a 24-to-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio and second in the league in yards passing among non-air raid quarterbacks.
But Hooker is far from the only thing that makes the Tennessee offense go.
Receiver Jalin Hyatt has emerged as one of the best playmakers in the country this fall. The ex-Dutch Fork standout — who notably didn’t receive a South Carolina scholarship offer as a recruit — leads the nation with 15 touchdown receptions, which is more than 46 entire FBS teams (!!) this fall.
The Volunteers are also expected to get 2021-leading receiver Cedric Tillman back for Saturday’s contest in Columbia. Tillman has battled injury for most of this season, but finished last fall third in the SEC in touchdown receptions (12) and fifth in the league in yards receiving (1,081).
South Carolina’s defense wasn’t up to snuff a week ago as Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson and tailbacks Trevor Etienne and Montrell Johnson Jr. ran all over the Gamecocks in Gainesville.
Defensive coordinator Clayton White’s unit, though, has been largely good against the pass this year, despite issues slowing down opposing runners.
South Carolina is allowing the second fewest passing plays of 30-plus yards in the SEC and sits fourth in the league in opponent passing yards per game (194). It’s also surrendered more than 270 yards passing in a game just once this season.
“I don’t think there’s anything like it in college football,” White said in reference to Tennessee’s offensive tempo. “There’s a couple teams that go that speed and some teams can do it at the beginning of a game or at certain moments. But Tennessee, to me, is a team — that’s what they do.”
South Carolina has had its moments this year, but the shine of weeks past has worn off of late. The signature win over Kentucky looks less impressive after UK’s loss to Vanderbilt last week. Texas A&M, too, has fallen off a cliff and, at 3-7, will miss the postseason.
Beamer and his staff deserve ample credit for getting South Carolina to where it is right now. The Gamecocks are bowl-eligible with two games remaining. Outside of the dismal showing against Missouri, they’ve largely handled business against inferior opponents.
That said, the loss to Florida was an absolute train wreck. South Carolina was outplayed, out-coached and overmatched by a team that had been a middle-of-the-pack squad for the bulk of the season.
Trying to heal those wounds against the best Tennessee team in decades and one that ran USC off the field in Knoxville last year? Good luck.
Williams-Brice Stadium is expected to be packed on Saturday at kickoff. Don’t be surprised if it’s emptying out by the third quarter. This one could get ugly.
— Prediction: Tennessee 55, South Carolina 10 —
