COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina comes off its open date Saturday with a chance to show its breakthrough at Florida was more than a one-week blip, as No. 11 Tennessee visits Williams-Brice Stadium for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff on national television.
The Gamecocks are 3-3, including 1-3 against SEC opponents. Two weeks ago they went to Gainesville and beat the 16th-ranked Gators 38-19, ending an eight-game skid in conference play. LaNorris Sellers threw for 279 yards and four touchdowns and ran for another score, and the offense piled up 393 yards without a turnover.
Tennessee arrives at 6-1 after knocking off Alabama 26-10, part of a weekend that also saw Georgia fall to Auburn and Texas lose again. The old SEC East rivals have not met since 2023.
Oddsmakers have not settled on a favorite. Tennessee opened as a 2.5-point pick, though other listings have since flipped that margin to South Carolina.
The computer models see a tight game as well. The Football Power Index slid the idle Gamecocks one spot to No. 29 nationally after Kentucky won at Oklahoma, and rates Tennessee 12th. The index projects Shane Beamer’s team to finish with roughly six wins and puts its chances of reaching bowl eligibility at 56.8%.
By that measure, South Carolina ranks 35th in offensive efficiency, up seven places during the bye, but 58th on defense, ahead of only Florida and Vanderbilt in the league. Its special teams climbed from 29th to 22nd. Of the six games left, the model favors the Gamecocks only against Arkansas and Clemson and calls the Texas A&M matchup a toss-up.
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