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Tennessee football: Five Vols to watch for against South Carolina Gamecocks

By Caleb Calhoun

LEXINGTON, KY - OCTOBER 28: Daniel Bituli #35 and Nigel Warrior #18 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrate a recovered fumble against the Kentucky Wildcats at Commonwealth Stadium on October 28, 2017 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
LEXINGTON, KY - OCTOBER 28: Daniel Bituli #35 and Nigel Warrior #18 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrate a recovered fumble against the Kentucky Wildcats at Commonwealth Stadium on October 28, 2017 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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At 2-5, Tennessee football will try to turn its season around against the South Carolina Gamecocks. Here are five key Volunteers to watch for.

When the South Carolina Gamecocks come to town on Saturday, Tennessee football will be looking to overcome lots of things. That includes a disastrous 2-5 start to this season, a three-game losing streak to S.C. and a seven-game losing streak to Will Muschamp.

Winning this game could change everything for the outlook of the Vols’ season. Losing, however, makes it almost impossible for them to turn things around and make it to a bowl game Jeremy Pruitt’s second year on the job.

So no pressure. Anyway, perhaps the most difficult part of facing South Carolina is there’s no real formula to beat them. Will Muschamp’s team may be 3-4 on the year, but you win by just playing a solid, all-around team game.

Can we expect Tennessee football to do that when they’ve failed at it all year? Well, it’s their only hope against this program in what is clearly a must-win game for both teams as they desperately try to reach a bowl game.

To do it, key Vols will have to step up. As we get set to look at the most important UT players in this game, it’s worth pointing out that the standout players will mostly be on defense. Maybe that’s a spoiler, but anybody who has followed a Muschamp team knows that you beat them by shutting down their offense.

It’s going to be no different for Pruitt and co. on Saturday. Regardless of who plays quarterback, defense and discipline will be what wins this game. They’ll need a lot of it, and they’ll need a few specific players to step up.

That’s not to say they won’t need any offense. But where it may need to come from is a bit tricky. So let’s break down all of that along with who in general is most important here. These are the five Vols to watch for when Tennessee football hosts South Carolina Saturday.

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