All for Tennessee
Fansided

Tennessee football falls during Week 9 bye in SEC Power Rankings

By Caleb Calhoun

Sep 26, 2020; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Jeremy Pruitt celebrates after a touchdown against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 26, 2020; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Jeremy Pruitt celebrates after a touchdown against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
6 of 15
Next
Oct 10, 2020; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks running back Kevin Harris (20) celebrates with running back Deshaun Fenwick (14) after a touchdown during the second half against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Vanderbilt Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 10, 2020; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks running back Kevin Harris (20) celebrates with running back Deshaun Fenwick (14) after a touchdown during the second half against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Vanderbilt Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports /

10. team. 850. . 2-3. Previous: . Gamecocks

Did not play

This is one team we don’t know what to make of. The South Carolina Gamecocks beat the Auburn Tigers one week, lost to the LSU Tigers the next week and then saw Auburn blow out LSU while on a bye over the weekend. Will Muschamp is back to having a similar season to what he usually does, but there are plenty of signs for encouragement.

South Carolina did put up a fight against the Florida Gators, and they were a pick-six and a muffed punt away from beating Tennessee football. Take away the mistakes from that opener, and they could easily be 3-2 right now.

Even if one of the wins is against the Vanderbilt Commodores, another one being against Auburn shows what these guys are capable of doing. As of now, though, they didn’t move at all in our SEC Power Rankings.

Collin Hill is still the best option at quarterback, and with Shi Smith at receiver, offensive coordinator Mike Bobo could be dangerous coming off a bye. South Carolina’s main issue, though, was defense in its last outing, a 52-24 loss to LSU. Muschamp, a defensive mastermind, needs to have worked on that during the open date as well.

Did they work on these things? We’ll know soon enough. Up next for South Carolina is a tough game against the Texas A&M Aggies, but they have a path to .500 with the Ole Miss Rebels, Missouri Tigers and Kentucky Wildcats at the end of the season still on the slate.

Home/Vols Football