Tennessee football at South Carolina: 10 keys for Vols and Gamecocks

9. Who benefits most from their kicker and punter?

Tennessee football has a major bright spot when it comes to their kicking future with Brent Cimaglia and Joe Doyle. Cimaglia has only one legitimate miss on the year, and almost all his kicks have been from beyond 40 yards. So he’s already a huge upgrade from Aaron Medley.

Doyle, meanwhile, has shown a powerful leg, and he’s carrying on the Punter U tradition on Rocky Top, the second straight walk-on to do so after Trevor Daniel. However, both are in their first full year starting. As a result, inconsistencies show, and they did last week, as both played poorly.

The South Carolina Gamecocks, meanwhile, use their kicking game as a strength. Joseph Charlton is averaging 45.3 yards per punt, flipping field a lot. Meanwhile, Parker White is 8-of-9 on field goals this year and hasn’t yet missed an extra point.

If they all play to their talent max, the Vols have the advantage in the kicking game, albeit slightly. But given the consistency issues that come with first-year starters, there’s a chance that South Carolina dominates this part of the game.

And yes, this is a huge factor in Tennessee-South Carolina games. The Vols single-handedly beat the Gamecocks back in 2003 because of Dustin Colquitt’s leg. They then won off of three field goals back in 2013. In a game that could be decided by great defense, the field goals and field position could become huge factors. Will Tennessee slightly outperform S.C.? Or will the Gamecocks dominate? That’ll be a big deal.