Tennessee's top defense visits South Carolina

Tennessee wins the margin, South Carolina leaks points

Against Power 4 opponents, Tennessee is 4-1, with the loss to Texas. South Carolina is 1-3, with the win at Florida. Tennessee is +51 in point margin in those games, 12th nationally and fourth in the SEC. South Carolina is -20, 44th nationally and 12th in the SEC.

Against Power 4 opponents, South Carolina actually scores more, 31.0 points a game to Tennessee's 27.2. Tennessee allows 17.0 points a game, sixth nationally, while South Carolina allows 36.0, 70th nationally and 16th in the SEC. Put plainly, South Carolina gives up more than twice what Tennessee does against the same caliber of opponent.

The quieter numbers are close. Tennessee holds the ball 31:06 a game, 26th nationally, to South Carolina's 30:16. Tennessee is penalized 65 yards a game, South Carolina 69.

Where it's decided

When South Carolina has the ball, it brings an offense that scores 37.7 points a game in all games, up from 22.7 last season. Against Power 4 opponents it scores 31.0 points and gains 425 yards a game, 18th and 19th nationally. Tennessee allows 290.4 yards a game in those games, fourth in FBS, and 177 passing yards, fourth nationally.

Third down is the pressure point. South Carolina converts 42.2%, 28th nationally, and Tennessee allows 30.2%, sixth.

Quarterback LaNorris Sellers leads South Carolina in passing yards with 1,338, with 12 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. He is also second on the team in rushing yards with 411 and leads the SEC at 6.1 yards per carry among players with 10 or more carries a game. Matt Fuller leads South Carolina in rushing yards with 485 and 5 touchdowns. Nyck Harbor leads in receiving yards with 278, and Mazeo Bennett Jr. leads in catches with 25. Tennessee's Tyree Weathersby leads the team in sacks with 6.5.

When Tennessee has the ball, it leans on the run. Against Power 4 teams it runs for 185 yards a game, 10th nationally and first in the SEC. South Carolina allows 125 rushing yards a game, 31st nationally, and 291 passing yards, 16th in the SEC. Tennessee converts 34.7% on third down, and South Carolina allows 41.7%.

Mike Matthews leads Tennessee in receiving yards with 481 and in catches with 29. Daune Morris is second in rushing yards with 344. South Carolina linebacker Justin Okoronkwo leads the team in tackles with 43, and Anthony Addison leads in sacks with 3.

DeSean Bishop near 30 career touchdowns

Tennessee running back DeSean Bishop ranks third in FBS with 837 rushing yards, on 139 carries. His 10 rushing touchdowns are second in the SEC, and he needs 1 more to reach 30 for his career.

Faizon Brandon had no stats against Alabama

Tennessee quarterback Faizon Brandon leads the team in passing yards with 697, with 7 touchdowns, 1 interception and a 60.4 completion percentage. He had no stats in the 26-10 win over Alabama. Tennessee throws for 166 yards a game against Power 4 opponents, 75th nationally and 16th in the SEC.

Tennessee's red zone wall and turnover edge

Against Power 4 teams, Tennessee allows scores on 68.8% of red zone trips, fourth nationally and first in the SEC. South Carolina scores on 93.8% of its trips. Tennessee scores on 93.3% of its own trips, and South Carolina allows 92.9%. Tennessee is +5 in turnover margin, fourth nationally. South Carolina is -2.

99% of the passing yards back, or 2%

South Carolina returns 99% of its 2025 passing yards, 2,506 of 2,519. Tennessee returns 2%, 69 of 3,807, after Joey Aguilar's 3,565 yards left the program.

Herring meets the team he left

Josh Heupel coaches Tennessee and is 2-1 against South Carolina. Shane Beamer coaches South Carolina and is 1-2 against Tennessee.

South Carolina edge rusher Caleb Herring played at Tennessee in 2023-25, with 26 tackles, 8 tackles for loss and 5 sacks, before transferring to Columbia. His 4 sacks last season were part of the 11 that transfers brought South Carolina, a defense that returned only 32% of its 2025 sacks.

Tennessee receiver Braylon Staley grew up about 50 miles away in Aiken, S.C., and he is second on the team in receiving yards with 203, on 26 catches.

Tennessee's other Penn State transfers shape the defense. Xavier Gilliam ranks third in the SEC in tackles for loss, and safety Dejuan Lane is tied for second in the SEC with 3 interceptions. Edge Chaz Coleman arrived from Penn State as a 5-star transfer.

Tennessee had 5 players drafted, 2 cornerbacks, 2 edge rushers and a receiver. Cornerback Colton Hood went in the second round, and receiver Chris Brazzell II, who had 1,017 receiving yards in 2025, went in the third. South Carolina had 3 drafted, a cornerback, a defensive tackle and a safety, led by cornerback Brandon Cisse in the second round.

Availability

The availability report for this game is not out yet.

Tennessee owns the series, the home team owns lately

Tennessee leads the series 29-11-2 since 1903. It is 22-10 against South Carolina as SEC opponents since 1992, a year Tennessee went 9-3 and South Carolina 5-6. Six of the last 10 meetings were decided by one score.

The home team has won the last 3 meetings, dating to 2021, when both teams went 7-6. The last was 41-20 for Tennessee at home in 2023, when Jaylen Wright ran for 123 yards for a 9-4 team. South Carolina finished 5-7.

South Carolina is 8-10 at home against Tennessee, which last won in Columbia in 2020, a season Tennessee finished 3-7 and South Carolina 2-8.

Since 2004, the year Tennessee went 10-3 with All-American lineman and Campbell Trophy winner Michael Munoz and South Carolina went 6-5, the teams have gone to overtime twice. Tennessee won both, most recently in 2014, when both finished 7-6.

Three things to watch

Tennessee's defense against Sellers: the SEC's stingiest scoring defense meets a quarterback who leads the league in yards per carry.

Weathersby in the backfield: Tennessee's sack leader is one of only 10 FBS players this season with two or more sacks in two games.

South Carolina's special teams: against Power 4 opponents it allows 4.0 yards per punt return, 20th nationally, against Tennessee's 16.5, and kicker Malik Orsan ranks third in the SEC with 2 field goals of 50-plus yards. South Carolina has also converted a 2-point try in three games, tied for the most in FBS.